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    Common Tropes For Guts's Companions 
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"Not to be lost. Not to be destroyed."Characters

"Companions...who'd have thought I'd...have them again?"
Guts

This character page is for the companions and allies who travel with Guts, the protagonist of Berserk, in his epic journey to cure Casca and get revenge on Griffith following the loss of his original True Companions in the Eclipse. Most of them officially joined his quest following the Conviction Arc, except for Puck who has been with him since the Black Swordsman Arc.


  • Adaptational Early Appearance:
    • Farnese, Azan, and Serpico appear among the guests at the victory ball in Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II, while in the manga they aren't introduced until the beginning of the Conviction arc.
    • While introducing Guts and Puck mostly as they appeared in the first episode of the manga, Berserk (2016) manages to insert introductions to most of Guts' future companions within the very first episode who originally debuted in much later volumes of the manga (though not as far apart in relation to the story's internal chronology since the manga proceeds in non-linear fashion):
      • Farnese shows up with Serpico and Azan at the aftermath of the Eclipse—as they did in manga volume 14—within the very first minute of anime episode 1.
      • Isidro shows up 18 volumes early at the tavern from which Guts rescues Puck, where he is shown to have joined a gang in search of adventure, but ended up waiting on tables for them, much to his disappointment.
      • Schierke and Ivalera are shown a whole 22 volumes early as she senses the disturbance in the world created by Griffith, together with her mentor Flora who first appeared in volume 24.
  • Action Survivor: They've all managed to survive through some horrific scenarios, mostly by virtue of hanging around Doom Magnet Guts. Considering how horrible the world is? They all need to be this in order to survive.
  • The Defroster: All of them have helped Guts change massively from the brooding Sociopathic Hero he once was, turning him into a much more melancholic and somber kind of guy. It doesn't look like a lot, but considering what he was like before he met them, it's a welcome, if not needed, change.
  • Dysfunction Junction: Everybody has some serious psychological baggage. Farnese used to be a Church Militant Pyromaniac, Serpico burnt his mother alive at the stake to prove his allegiance to Farnese, Isidro ran away from home to pursue a career as the greatest swordsman in the world, Schierke's mistress Flora was burnt alive in her home by Griffith's forces, Azan is an honorable knight who's seen some pretty nasty stuff at the Tower of Conviction, Magnifico is maladjusted from being his father's least favorite son, and Isma was ostracized for being different by her village, and she hated them for it, but came to regret it when they all were eaten by the Sea God. Roderick is pretty much the only one with a healthy backstory, while Puck and Ivalera managed to stay remarkably buoyant considering the tragedy they've witnessed in their human companions' lives. And that's not even getting into Guts' and Casca's backstories...
  • Fire-Forged Friends: Many of Guts' companions have started out being an annoyance to him (Puck), trying to kill him (Farnese, Serpico), trying to imprison him (Azan), trying to steal from him (Isidro), or just disliking him (Schierke). But through the mere fact that they have to depend on each other's help during fights against monsters, they've managed to form something like camaraderie.
  • Foil: To Griffith's Band of the Hawk. Led by Griffith, the Hawks largely served as a Red Shirt Army who were inspired more by the mask Griffith put on as a flawless god-amongst-men who fought only for his dream and nothing else. The relationship between Guts and his crew is on much more equal footing, largely because Guts is willing to trust them and see them as they are, rather than see them as merely extensions of his will. As such, his companions come to appreciate him more for who he truly is, beyond the gruff exterior he often puts on. And finally, the Hawks were all hardened mercenaries who all chose to remain subservient to Griffith's dream to advance their own standing in society. While this resulted in them finding commonalities in each other and growing a genuine sense of unity and trust in their ranks, this also enabled them to remain relatively unambitious with their own respective lots in life, instead of striving to achieve greatness on their own terms. On the other hand, most of those listed here started off as enemies to Guts (or at least on more unfriendly terms), but joined up with him because saw through Guts the means to fulfill their individual ambitions (though in Magnifico and Azan's cases, it was largely because extenuating circumstances forced them to tag along).
  • Morality Pet: All of them serve as this for Guts. With Casca, this is a given. But everyone else serves as a tether for Guts to stay true to his humanity and reject the temptation to give into his inner rage — the temptation that Griffith and the Berserker Armor both present. Puck, however, was the first to get Guts to smile in two years, and allow him to actually let loose for the first time in a long time.
  • Nominal Hero: With the exception of Azan and Schierke, the other characters are pretty much after their own goals and aspirations, and they hang around Guts because they see him as a way to achieve said goals. Isidro wants to become a great swordsman, Farnese wants to grow into a stronger person, Serpico follows her because he's her manservant and half-brother, etc. However, they do rein Guts in when he's being too un-heroic and push him into helping others when he couldn't care less about doing so.
  • Old Hero, New Pals: After the Band of the Hawk split apart (in a more literal sense than usual), these guys came in to provide some much-needed levity into Guts' life. They're sorely needed in this series.
  • The Power of Friendship: Their relationship with Guts as a whole has helped him grow from the Empty Shell Blood Knight Jerkass he once was into a much more heroic, if still rough around the edges, and just slightly more compassionate man. He's at least not running on pure unadulterated rage in his fights as much as he used to, and with how much he's had to go through, that's a BIG accomplishment.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The only good guys capable of saving the day who aren't under Griffith's thumb just happen to be the most mismatched and quirky team of unlikely heroes you could come up with. The Leader is a BFS-wielding, demon-slaying, ex-mercenary Nominal Hero with a Dark and Troubled Past, an Enemy Within, and a warrant for his arrest by the Holy See on charges of being a Walking Disaster Area. Following him we have an insane mute, a noblewoman who left behind her past as a Pyromaniac Knight Templar to become a witch's apprentice, her Heroic Bastard Battle Butler and Servile Snarker, a precociously mature and talented Child Mage with a pessimistic view of human nature, a hot-headed wannabe Kid Samurai who ran away from home to live as an Artful Dodger, an overly-chivalrous Large Ham Knight Errant who's been kicked out of his job and reduced to sleeping on boats, a hilariously useless Dirty Coward ex-banker on the run from his father, a dashing naval-adventuring Warrior Prince, and a hyperactive blue-haired girl fisherman who turns out to be a mermaid. Oh, and two Fairy Companions, one of whom is a sassy smart-ass and the other of which is a pop-culture impersonating goofball.
  • Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick: Guts is a Nominal Hero, and initially '90s Anti-Hero, who's deliberately callous and mean to anyone who tries to make friends with him, partly for their own good. Puck, his Fairy Companion, is a cheerful soul with a strong moral compass, often criticizing Guts for antagonizing people and acting as his Morality Chain whether he likes it or not. His other companions eventually serve as a collective Nice Sidekick to contrast with his brooding Rude Hero, pushing him to showcase some heroic qualities when he would care less about doing so and generally helping him become a kinder person by The Power of Friendship.
  • Seen It All: Nothing surprises them anymore, after all the journeys they've gone through with Guts.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Primarily averted. While some of them share mild traits with Guts' old friends, their personalities differ greatly. Still, the prospect of losing them weighs heavily on the warrior's mind, because his growing bonds with these people remind him of those which he had with the Hawks.
  • True Companions: Not quite, but they're getting there. Guts even recognizes how they're slowly growing on him, and he's very protective of all of them because of that. As such, his companions grow along with him and become equally willing to defend him at the cost of their own safety, when necessary.
  • UST: Oh boy, it's all over the place with this group. In no short order; Guts still carries his torch for Casca that he did back in the Golden Age, but because of her mental state he has been unable to even go near her. Farnese and Schierke both have unrequited crushes on Guts, but they both are also aware that Guts is only in love with Casca. Farnese and Serpico have a lot of baggage from backstories, with Serpico having turned her down in the past, partly because he learned they are half-siblings. Roderick is Farnese's fiancé and is actively trying to woo her. Isidro is pretty blatant about his feelings towards Isma, but she seems to be oblivious to his advances.
  • Weirdness Magnet: Guts is the Weirdness Magnet of the group. However, since everyone listed here decided to follow Guts, they've become Weirdness Magnets themselves.
  • Younger and Hipper: The Hawks were seasoned mercenaries with an almost familial bond borne from their collective determination to fight in the pursuit of their dreams. These guys, on the other hand, are a more carefree Ragtag Bunch of Misfits consisting mainly of either pubescent children or people who've reached early adulthood. They start off on uneven ground with one another by virtue of their wildly differing backgrounds and perspectives, slowly inching their way to becoming True Companions out of continued reliance in each other's strengths on the battlefield.

    Farnese 

Farnese de Vandimion (ファルネーゼ・ド・ヴァンディミオン, Farunēze do Vandimion)

Voiced by: Yūko Gotō (Japanese, Berserk: Millennium Falcon Hen Seima Senki no Shō), Yōko Hikasa (Japanese, Berserk (2016) and Berserk and the Band of the Hawk), Erica Lindbeck (English, Berserk (2016))

Guidebook Stats:note  Height: 162 cm (5 ft, 4 in); Weight: 48 kg (105 lb, 13 oz); Age: 19

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/farnese_300.jpg
Click here to see Farnese in Berserk (2016)

"I want to know what transcends the order I clung to. The truth. And I want to learn a way to live in the darkness where the light of that order does not reach."

Introduced as the figurehead of the Holy Iron Chain Knights, she was supposedly a Lady of War, except that she has no combat experience whatsoever. She first meets Guts after his exhausting battle against Rosine and captures him.

A frustrated Rebellious Princess with pyrophiliac tendencies, she gets thoroughly broken by Guts upon trying to whip him into submission with her barbed scourge. Seeing in him the epitome of heresy, she pledges to have him executed once he confesses.

Yet, after witnessing the horrible events of the mock Eclipse at the Tower of Punishments, all of her convictions are destroyed and she stands corrected before Guts' survivability and his unwillingness to submit to Mozgus who she respected deeply. She eventually joins him, wanting to learn how to survive unaided in the world.

She is not much of a combatant but is currently learning magic from Schierke and sometimes uses her silver dagger for defense. She is also very protective of Casca, even though she has a crush on Guts. She recently Took a Level in Badass and is much more combative than what she used to be.


  • Adrenaline Makeover: Played with. When Farnese gradually becomes much stronger as a person, she acts more introverted and modest. She also trades in her Girlish Pigtails (which symbolized her naivety) for a simpler, more travel-friendly bob hairdo.
  • All Girls Want Bad Boys: Farnese has been romantically involved with at least three other characters, being her nice-looking half-brother Serpico, something she isn't aware; her fiancé Roderick, who is a handsome prince from another land; but the one who makes her feel jealous due to his loyal attention to Casca and the one who gives her Tears of Joy with any compliment is the violent Guts, who isn't actually bad, but the story puts him always in a very bad position. He was even chased at first by the Holy Iron Chain Knights, commanded by none other than Farnese herself. Later in the story, she finds that following him in his journey would help her to truly understand the world.
  • Animal Motifs: The stoat. A noblewoman but rather weak in comparison to her comrades (physically stronger than Schierke though). Yet she's not helpless and isn't afraid to stab her assailants to defend herself.
  • Arranged Marriage: When she was sixteen, her father grew tired of her willfulness and arranged for her to marry a certain member of royalty for the sake of the family; it was called off when she set the house on fire and was sent to a monastery. Years later, it happens to her again when Magnifico engages her to Roderick.
  • Ax-Crazy: Pyromania and cruelty to animals are traits traditionally associated to being a violent nutcase in real life psychiatry, and Farnese, who demonstrates both in her childhood, used to enjoy burning heretics. However, and contrary to popular belief, those are stronger predictors of being messed up by parental neglect or abuse rather than of being an unreedemable psycho (she desired to burn those supposedly evil people because she was afraid of them), and accordingly, Farnese later grows out of it thanks to her experiences with Guts and company.
  • The Atoner: By following Guts she hopes to atone for the atrocities she committed on behalf of the Holy See.
  • Bad Powers, Good People: A particularly interesting example because she got the bad powers by becoming a better person - it's heavily implied that her offensive magic (which has a lot of bondage and torture imagery) is a result of her deliberately channeling her sadism in a useful direction in order to help her friends. After all, nobody's going to be terribly upset if The Legions of Hell get tortured to death.
  • Blue Blood: The Vandimion family is the most wealthy and powerful in Vritannis, and has the same status as royalty. Her illustrious blood is the reason she was chosen to lead the Holy Iron Chain Knights and causes many of the other events that happen to her.
  • Break the Haughty: Farnese starts out as an arrogant Holier Than Thou Knight Templar with a history of abusing her servants, but witnessing and surviving so many unimaginable terrors and coming to terms with her own general lack of skills made her a quieter and much more humble person.
  • The Caretaker: Ends up taking up this role for Casca when she joins Guts' group.
  • Cherry Tapping: A scared senseless Farnese takes down Guts this way, but he was beaten to a pulp already and he really just tripped and fell on her sword, leaving her stunned in disbelief. Nice throw, Serpico!
  • Chew Toy: Guts definitely got a few chuckles out of messing with this kinky little bugger's head early on. Not so much after she joins Guts' group.
  • Childhood Friend Romance: She and Serpico have been together most of their lives with him as her servant boy and she developed feelings for him in their teenage years, unaware that he is actually her half-brother.
  • Chronic Pet Killer: That poor bird. Gone the same way as the last one... and the one before that... (and the dog too...). Probably a thing of the past, though.
  • Combat Sadomasochist: An incredibly rare positively-portrayed example. Learning to vent her sadistic urges through combat magic against The Legions of Hell in order to protect her friends rather than bottling them up and lashing out at less deserving targets is an important part of her Character Development.
  • Cowardly Lion: Farnese gets scared out of her mind very often, but instead of running away she will slice anything that comes close to Casca with that dagger of hers.
  • Cruel to Be Kind: In her backstory with Serpico, she forced him to burn his mother at the stake. An insanely cruel act, but prior to it Serpico in shock let it slip that she was his mother in front of the priests, and had Farnese not stepped in to get him to "prove his loyalty," Serpico would have likely been burned too as a heretic by association.)
  • Demonic Possession: At one time she was possessed by a ghost, which mocked her for her insecurities and suppressed urges and tried to get her to kill herself using Guts sword.
  • Enfante Terrible: Known as "the devil child of the Vandimion" since childhood because of the way she abused the servants and created chaos, a consequence of neglect by her father.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Though she was quite a sadist during her Knight Templar days in the Holy Iron Chain Knights, and was not above giving heretics A Taste of the Lash or burning them at the stake, Farnese was notably disturbed and horrified by the torture techniques employed by Mozgus.
  • Extreme Doormat: Despite her tyrannical bossiness towards her subordinates such as Serpico, she can't stand up for herself in front of authority figures like her father or the Church, even about something as important to her as being married off against her will. She tends to take it out on those beneath her instead, and her father knows that she is obedient in his presence but terrible when he's not looking. As she undergoes Character Development and becomes kinder, this problem actually becomes even worse since she has broken with her domineering leader persona yett continues to lack self-esteem. However, her mother recognizes that she has Silk Hiding Steel even if she doesn't realize it, and warns Magnifico that his sister is most unpredictable when she's acting obedient.
  • Fan Disservice: Several times she appears naked or pleasures herself in situations that are used to highlight her mental instability and sense of guilt instead of being played for titillation. Exhibit A: straddling Guts' BFS while naked. The more she becomes a better person, the more she becomes a Ms. Fanservice with a heavy dose of Hot Witch.
  • Faux Action Girl: An in-universe example. Farnese leads the Holy Iron Chain Knights, but they never expect her to actually fight. The Knights are traditionally led by a maiden, so she is entirely there for looks and because she comes from a noble family. Throughout the course of the manga she slowly becomes more of an Action Girl with her actually attacking a giant tiger demon with just a silver candelabara and warding off two tigers.
  • Florence Nightingale Effect:
    • How she and Serpico met. After he was beat up by some local bullies and left in the snow, Farnese finds Serpico and brings him back to her family's mansion. She begins to nurse him back to health, but says that he has to be her servant boy from then on.
    • Similarly, her growing feelings for Guts becomes more noticeable from the moment she first practices healing magic on him. She even utters the phrase, "Right now, my warmth is flowing into and around you," within her mind as she tearfully embraces the fact that she, at long last, has found a way to be of direct help to the struggling swordsman. The event gets capped off by her more-or-less forbidding Guts to go see Casca in a subtle display of jealousy, on the excuse that he'll only agitate her and that he needs to rest more.
  • General Failure: In her time as commander of the Holy Iron Chain Knights, she was rather unpopular in part for this reason. While she could at least manage a facsimile of tactical prowess on the surface, her sadism and holier-than-thou attitude gave her little charisma, giving her a reputation as a martinet. She also had a major habit of vastly overestimating the ability of the Knights and underestimating her enemies, despite it being shown frequently that they were mostly useless in battlefield actions outside of a well-trained few. It's suggested in the story that her job is meant to be a figurehead position that isn't supposed to do any actual commanding, which is likely why she seems to have been poorly trained in anything beyond the basics.
  • Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Her stuffed rabbit mentioned in the entry for Lonely Doll Girl.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: It's subtle, but her deepening attraction to Guts also brings with it a growing sense of jealousy towards Casca. Notice the longing looks she throws his way every time she catches him displaying his devotion towards Casca, best exemplified when the party first encounters the Moon Child: while everyone else is quick to observe how the boy seemed to draw Guts and Casca closer together (if even for a fleeting moment), Farnese is the only one to look visibly uncomfortable at the idea (something Serpico takes notice). This comes to a point where she finally lashes out her frustrations at Casca after yet another one of her crazy escapades ends up causing more unneeded trouble for the already exhausted Guts, but stops herself short, knowing that it's not entirely the woman's fault, being the way she is. While she never completely leaves these feelings behind, she goes through enough Character Development to prevent them from affecting her behaviour in any meaningful way - when the time comes to go on a Journey to the Center of the Mind alongside Schierke to heal Casca, she's completely onboard and mission-focused despite acknowledging that it'll almost certainly also heal Guts's relationship with his lost love, and that she's not completely happy about that.
  • Green Thumb: Can now control familiars made out of thorns, thanks to Schierke's tutelage.
  • Had to Be Sharp: In Elfhelm, Farnese is embarrassed to have to show what she knows about magic since it's only been three months since she began learning about it. However, when she uses the array of the four cardinal points, everyone present is impressed that she's been able to learn and perform such a difficult spell only three months while other students had to try for years. Shierke points out that Farnese was pretty much forced by the circumstances to be a fast learner.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Her hair's as blond as ever, but she's also become one of the most empathetic and gentle characters in the manga after her Character Development.
  • The Heart: Ends up becoming the conflict mediator of the group post Heel–Face Turn, largely because she cares for Casca and is also the connection between Guts and Serpico.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Started off as a mentally unhinged Knight Templar antagonistic to Guts. Since joining him, she's mellowed out considerably, become more grounded, and much more kind in general.
  • Heel Realization: Farnese hears a voice in her head telling her that her Knight Templar activities are just an excuse to indulge her sadistic sexual urges, and she secretly feels like she's a terrible person. During the Conviction Arc she also agonizes over being complicit in a campaign of persecution that she increasingly recognizes as being wrong, but doesn't have the courage to refuse. Deciding to follow Guts is what finally provides her with a constructive goal to change herself.
  • Hero-Worshipper: Since the end of the Conviction Arc, she's put Guts on a pedestal, having witnessed firsthand his unflinching resolve against overwhelming adversity to the point where she considers him the only certain hope in a world full of doubts and deceit. Her admiration for him runs so deep that any kind word he sends her way is bound to make her cry Tears of Joy.
  • Hot Witch: Shaping up to be one with lessons from Schierke. With a lot of aspects of a White Mage too since she has been focusing on defense and healing instead of blowing up armies.
  • Hysterical Woman: She was subject to violent mood swings while growing up and leading the Iron Chain Knights, and would often become too emotional to make rational decisions. This only increased the contempt of her subordinates, who took it as proof that women are unfit to lead troops.
  • Important Haircut: To prove her determination to follow Guts (and change herself for the better), she used her sword to cut off the Girlish Pigtails she had worn as the Iron Chain Knights' leader.
  • Inspector Javert: As leader of the Iron Chain Knights, her mission at the time she encountered Guts was to capture the Black Swordsman and take him to the Holy See to answer for the carnage he left in his wake. It really looked like Guts was guilty too, as the demons he killed always turn back to their human form, making it look like he massacred huge numbers of regular humans to anyone who didn't witness it.
  • Jeanne d'Archétype: Subverted. The figurehead of the Holy Iron Chain Knights is always a woman, not even needed to have any actual fighting skills (this point is closer to the real Jeanne than most examples), so she appears to be this trope, only the voices she hears in her head are actual demons. And you know, the pyromania and the Knight Templar ways. In fact the nicer she becomes the more she gets away from the image, from a rather useless Adventurer to a growing White Mage with touches of Hot Witch. By the Elfhelm arc, she actually looks like a witch.
  • Kicked Upstairs: Her leadership of the Iron Chain Knights was largely symbolic and used in an attempt to keep her from causing trouble.
  • Knight Templar: During her time as the Holy See's figurehead she zealously hunted and burned heretics, in the process killing many innocent people including Serpico's mother.
  • Lady of War: Double Subversion. During her time as leader of the Holy Iron Chain Knights, she was dressed as one but could hardly fight. She later starts genuinely working towards this, including teaching herself to fight with a dagger and learning sorcery from Schierke.
  • The Load: Was initially one among Guts' party and realized it. It made her want to learn sorcery from Schierke. Played with in that Guts doesn't consider her the load at all: at one point he tells her how relieved he is that she's around to look after Casca, which he would do himself, but Casca, in her brain-damaged state, is terrified of him.
  • Lonely Doll Girl: She use to have a stuffed rabbit that her father bought for her on a family outing that was her Security Blanket, but then her father told her to dispose of it because she was getting to old for it. Judging by the way that she did get rid of it, it probably didn't improve her troubled mindset.
  • Lonely Rich Kid: Her family was endlessly wealthy, and showered her with toys and gifts as a substitute for actually being there for her. The servants all feared her because of her volatile behavior, and Serpico was the only companion who stayed with her.
  • Loves the Sound of Screaming: During her Knight Templar Church Militant days she enjoyed burning people alive, and though she is The Atoner now and ashamed of what she did, her sadism is presented somewhat sympathetically. See Pyromaniac, below, for details.
  • Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration: Farnesse is a sexually repressed Rebellious Princess with pyrophiliac tendencies. As a teenager and into her adulthood, she was turned on by people burning alive to the point where she deals with it by masturbating in secret.
  • A Match Made in Stockholm: Guts and Farnese first meet in this sort of fashion. She is assigned to capture and kill Guts, and Guts ends up kidnapping and holding her hostage twice. During this time period, her future infatuation and admiration towards him are foreshadowed and hinted at.
  • Mistress and Servant Boy: Her relationship with Serpico is that of a dutiful servant and demanding young mistress, with complicated emotional undertones.
  • The Neidermeyer: The Holy Iron Chain Knights really didn't like serving under her. Her my-way-or-the-highway attitude, habit of jumping headfirst into dangerous missions, and very evident status as a sadistic pyromaniac meant that she rarely gave them a good impression, and that was aside from the fact that she was taking a job that wasn't supposed to do anything yet insisted on doing things in it. They had expected a cushy lifestyle with a pretty girl hanging around, and she tried to treat it like an actual military organization and herself as their fearless commander.
  • Nice Girl: After becoming Casca’s caretaker and some Character Development, Farnese gradually goes from a bitter, sadistic woman full of insecurities and resentment to one of the most empathetic, gentle, and compassionate members of Guts' group, willing to care for others around her.
  • "Not So Different" Remark: Despite one being a religious fundamentalist heretic hunter and the other being a heretical cult member, Farnese and Nina aren't so different after all. Neither of them embraced religion or heresy out of love of faith so much as they wanted something behind which to hide from their fears. Both of them were afraid of being judged as sinners by God, and had dark sexual urges that they didn't know what to do with. The only difference is that they chose entirely opposed outlets. They're insecure souls who hurt their loved ones as a defense mechanism, but secretly hate themselves. During Guts' fight with Mozgus' torturers, Farnese actually looks at Nina cowering amidst the chaos and sees herself reflected in her. As it turns out, both of them had the capacity to change for the better, since they both found a constructive way to start their lives anew by the end of the Arc.
  • Office Lady: While certainly not the modern office employee the trope normally describes, Miura was thinking of this trope when he created her. She's similar to the "office flower" in that she was hired more for decoration than for being expected to handle actual responsibilities, and faces a similar climate of sexism and condescension.
    Miura: An office lady who joined society 1-2 years ago, getting used to her job and feeling anxiety about this man's world" was the concept (laughs). She's trying her best in the male society of her knight order, but doesn't mix well with the surroundings, butts heads with them and sometimes her dissatisfaction takes sexual form [...] If you expose such an unstable woman to Mozgus and his strong impact, she will surely fall for religion. Long story short: Farnese is an "office lady who joined a dangerous cult."note 
  • Pyromaniac: Or more accurately pyrophiliac, given the sexual nature of her fascination. For much of her life she was obsessed with setting fires and watching living things burn. However, in contrast to the crazy pyromaniac archetype, Farnese is deeply ashamed and frightened by her obsession. After masturbating to the thought of people burning at the stake, she is shown huddling on her bed and tearfully trying to convince herself "I am not in the wrong." Also, the pyromania, along with her sadism is traced to her spoilt but lonely childhood, where the sounds of other people's screaming would make her forget her own loneliness and depression.
  • Rebellious Princess: Deconstructed. She becomes one because of her lack of parental love, and this earns her the social isolation it would earn her in real life medieval Europe.
  • The Resenter: Sometimes feels resentment towards Casca for being the center of Guts' affection and the reason he puts himself through so much harm, without Casca even being able to realize what he does for her sake. She is ashamed of thinking this, though, and nevertheless cares for and protects Casca in the hopes doing so will help her atone for her sins.
  • Sadist: A complex, sympathetic example. She derives sexual pleasure from inflicting violence but is also totally aware that this is kind of messed up. Much of her arc consists of learning to live with herself and also learning the difference between socially acceptable violence and morally acceptable violence, and she even finds a reasonably healthy outlet for her urges after joining a certain band of traveling demon slayers and learning to use magic.
  • Security Blanket: She would cling to her stuffed rabbit to comfort her fears.
  • Series Continuity Error: Farnese's age is listed as 19 as of the Elf Island arc in the official Berserk databook. Going by the time skips, that would mean she was about 17 when she first joined up with Guts, and about 14 when she was shipped off to a convent, the event that led to her being appointed commander of the Holy Chain Knights. However, Farnese's father stated her age to be 16 just before the incident that caused him to send her to the convent; that would suggest she's about 21 by the time of the Elf Island arc. It may help to know that when Serpico converses with Lady Vandimion in Vritannis, he says he's served at Farnese's side for over ten years.
  • Silver Has Mystic Powers: Her dagger is made of silver, as well as the chainmail she and Casca wear under their garments. It is super-effective against supernatural creatures and later on she also uses it to perform magic rituals.
  • Stepford Smiler: Used to act charming and obedient in her father's presence while taking out her rage on Serpico and other servants, or on the so-called heretics she sent burning at the stake.
  • Surprise Incest: Serpico is her half-brother, but she isn't aware of this and had developed feelings for him in their teenage years. After being informed of her arranged marriage she even made a very emotionally charged advance on him. Serpico, being in the know, resisted and after that there was nothing else between them except a mistress and servant relationship.
  • A Taste of the Lash: Used to use the whip on both herself and others as an expression of the association between torture and her sexuality.
  • Team Mom: Due to her role as Casca's caretaker and her willingness to take care of everyone's basic needs, she qualifies as one of these.
  • Throwing Down the Gauntlet: While a teenager she became infamous for challenging men to duels for insulting her honor—in at least one case, by speaking ill of Serpico's common origins. In the incident shown she gave the other party a Glove Slap, said This Is Unforgivable!, and demanded that he fight Serpico since as a woman she could not fight on her own behalf.
  • Tiny Tyrannical Girl: When she was younger she treated Serpico like her slave and made him do all sorts of hazardous and unreasonable things.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Not the most violent member of the party, but has shown to be willing to take a more active part in battle, as seen during the attack of the Kushan tigers in Vritannis in which she could effectively ward off two of them. She took another level recently, acting as a Barrier Maiden to keep the crew of the Seahorse safe while Schierke (on whom the duty would normally fall) was held up elsewhere.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Joining Guts and caring for Casca caused her to discover her compassion, and she is developing into one of the most empathetic characters in the series.
  • Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: This defined her childhood. She engaged in all sorts of petty cruelties as a young girl, often tormenting her servants and burning her pets alive. Perhaps the most troubling was when she took part in a witch-burning event, tossing multiple torches upon the heretics and fueling her pyrophilia at an early age.
  • You Are Better Than You Think You Are:
    • After joining Guts, Farnese frequently thinks that she's useless and doesn't belong. However, others including Guts and Roderick sometimes tell her that she's being too hard on herself and is making a valuable contribution to the team.
    • In Vritannis, she feels despondent because she can't stand up to her father or help her friends. Her mother tells her that in reality, her father is the one who doesn't know how to handle her uncontrollable passion, and that because she has such a sensitive soul she could learn to be kinder than anyone else.

    Serpico 

Serpico (セルピコ, Serupiko)

Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima (Japanese, Berserk: Millennium Falcon Hen Seima Senki no Shō), Kazuyuki Okitsu (Japanese, Berserk (2016) and Berserk and the Band of the Hawk), Max Mittelman (English, Berserk (2016)
Child Serpico voiced by: Lynn (Japanese, Berserk (2016)), Laura Stahl (English, Berserk (2016))

Guidebook Stats:note  Height: 175 cm (5 ft, 9 in); Weight: 63 kg (138 lb, 14 oz); Age: 20

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/serpico_300.jpg
Click here to see him in Seima Senki no Sho.
Click here to see him in Berserk (2016).
Click here to see him in Berserk and the Band of the Hawk.

"You clash head-on with your own destiny. Compared to my cooled demeanor, that is a life similar to being scorched by hellfire itself. While I arrayed myself in feigned ignorance, perhaps before I knew it, I too was affected by that heat."

Farnese's servant, bodyguard, and constant companion since childhood, Serpico is completely devoted to her and seldom questions her decisions. Although he presents the impression of merely being a harmless goofball, anyone who gets on his bad side by threatening Farnese will learn that he is deadly serious about protecting her and is an extremely dangerous opponent. A Fragile Speedster with impressive sword skills, he relies on his cunning to turn more powerful opponents' size and equipment against them, especially by choosing terrain that will favor his fighting style while restricting theirs. He is also a herald of arms, and has extensive knowledge about the histories and coats of arms of various countries.

At first, Serpico was not happy about Farnese's decision to follow Guts, and resigned himself to her wishes out of obligation. Wary of Guts' Superpowered Evil Side and distrustful of Guts' ability to control it, he confronted him about this several times. Their differences were finally settled by a duel in Vritannis, where he showed once more his superior tactical skills but lost to Guts. After being defeated, Serpico has stopped acting hostile towards Guts and has grown to respect and appreciate him, as shown when both worked together in sync to defeat Ganishka's chief sorcerer Daiba.

The magical gifts given to him by Flora include a fan-like sword with a blade made of feathers blessed by the Wind spirits which can bisect his opponents clean, and a cloak that grants him the power of flight and protection against the elements.


  • Abusive Parents: Serpico's mother was invalid, delusional, and burdened him with more pride and expectations than he could bear even though he was already taking care of her single-handed. Perhaps it wasn't entirely her fault because her mind wasn't all there, but it had the effect of emotional abuse.
  • Adopt-a-Servant: Serpico is the bastard son of a noble and a maid. When he was not yet ten, and had just been beaten by bullies within an inch of his life, Farnese picked him off the street, nursed him at her house, and made him become her personal page. Later, Farnese's father Fedrico recognized the locket around Serpico's neck as the one he had given to Serpico's mother, indicating that Serpico was his illegitimate son as well as Farnese's older half-brother. Federico explained that he couldn't let Serpico take on the Vandimion name because there were three legitimate sons already vying to become the next head of the family, but in exchange for Serpico's silence he granted him a noble title and appropriate upkeep so he could keep serving at Farnese's side.
  • Animal Motifs:
    • The fox, according to Guts whenever they spar or fight with each other. During his time with the Holy Iron Chain Knights, he had a helmet shaped like a kitsune mask, representing a kind of mythological fox spirit who are known for being tricksters.
    • Befitting his trickster nature, while not overt, Serpico has an association with snakes/serpents. He tends to use the environment around him as well as evasive maneuvers in battle. The "serp" part of his name also evokes a serpent.
  • Awesomeness by Analysis: Serpico can analyze minute details of the terrain and his opponent's equipment and fighting style in order to even the odds even against a freakishly strong opponent like Guts.
  • Badass Normal: Before getting his wind powers he fights using nothing but his sword skills, smarts, and athleticism. Whenever Serpico fights, the audience is guaranteed a show of lethal cunning and death-defying stunts. This is the guy whose resourcefulness in combat has even Guts, the King of Badass, admitting that he had to push himself to the limit in their latest duel.
  • Bash Brothers: Downplayed Trope, of Guts' companions, Serpico is the one with the most combat experience and tends to serve as Guts' backup during fights. For much of their journey though, the two had some trust issues however. This gets squashed in Vritannis, in time for the two to work together to defeat Daiba.
  • Battle Butler: For all intents and purposes he is Farnese's glorified personal valet, but he also serves as a highly effective bodyguard.
  • Big Brother Instinct: Serpico has been through everything with Farnese since childhood and feels responsible for protecting her because he's the stronger one. And because he is actually her half-brother. He also eventually becomes protective of the younger party members Isidro and Schierke.
  • Blow You Away: Has a wind-elemental enchanted sword and cloak, notably, the sword can do Razor Wind.
  • Bodyguard Crush: His feelings toward Farnese are rather complicated. He knows that he's her half-brother, but she doesn't. When she came onto him after learning that she was to be married off, he rejected her advances. Even so, the subtext is there.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Uses every trick at his disposal whenever he fights Guts, starting with the selection of the terrain and extending to maneuvers like snatching Guts' own bombs and using them against him. At one moment he flat-out admits that he has no choice except to do this, since he could never beat Guts in a totally 'fair' fight.
  • Covered in Scars: When Farnese examines him shirtless he is covered in scars from all the duels he has fought for her honor. He would always cause the fight to end in a non-lethal double hit so that both combatants could call it even with their honor intact; Farnese angrily states that because of his skill he would have gone unscathed if he had not held back from killing his opponents.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Never runs out of sarcastic quips, and has a silver tongue to match his rapier wit.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: After Guts soundly defeats him in Vritannis, all their differences seem settled. This was not just because Guts defeated him, but because Guts fought full force without relying on the Berserker armor, convincing Serpico that he would not lose control to his Superpowered Evil Side and attack Farnese as he had feared.
  • Diagonal Cut: The wind-blessed feather sword he uses in battle has this effect.
  • Disappeared Dad: Because he was a bastard, his father never took care of him or his mother. After rediscovering his son, Federico took responsibility for him but never did anything to help her.
  • Enigmatic Minion: Before Guts learned more about him, Serpico came across as a mysterious antagonist.
  • Expy: Miura says that he made Serpico to embody a certain type of "dream man" for female readers, the kind who is always at his lady's side and always thinks of her before himself: "Said directly, he's André from The Rose of Versailles."note 
  • Extreme Doormat: The other Iron Chain Knights see Serpico as one of these, calling him Farnese's personal lap dog. It's subverted or at least downplayed from the start because he does sometimes refuse her orders, and afterward his Character Development has him becoming more of his own person.
  • Eyes Always Shut: At least always when he is playing nice when Serpico happens to open his eyes both his expression and the situation are turning nasty.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: Initially hostile to Guts, Serpico has warmed up to him only in the process of facing the same dangers together.
  • Flynning: Starts as a saber user, and after acquiring his magical fan sword from Flora depends mostly on that weapon. The rapier that he uses in Vritannis fits his style as well, but has no more need for it after he gets his magical gifts back. All of these weapons emphasize his fencing skill, sophistication, and in the case of the fan sword the wind magic he uses.
  • Foil:
    • To Guts. While Serpico is calm and controlled, adapting to his role even in situations that others would find unreasonable, Guts is the opposite, refusing to submit to the horrible fate that the God Hand tries to impose on him, to the point that Serpico notices that compared to his cooled demeanor the black swordsman is like hellfire itself.
    • This also applies about their relationship with Farnese. Altought Serpico is a Hypercompetent Sidekick to Farnese, all he did was keep her company during the years that she was constantly neglected by her parents, failing to change her life for the better. On the other hand, Farnese has a Character Development thanks to Guts, which made Serpico feel ineffective but also made him happy to see his half-sister become a better person.
  • Fragile Speedster: Typically goes unarmored for greater mobility, and is capable of lightning-quick attacks with his rapier. Then he gains his wind sword, which can attack from a distance and grants him limited flight.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Serpico has a multiple Green Eyed Monster moments towards Guts over his half-sister Farnese since Serpico as her guardian is jealous (even murderously) of Guts giving purpose to her life and Serpico is quick to notice her crush on Guts. However he outright admits this feelings to Guts and thanks him for changing their lives for better.
  • Heroic Bastard: The illegitimate offspring of a nobleman and a maidservant, and exactly the kind of underdog hero that readers like to root for.
  • Hiding Behind Your Bangs: The locks of hair hiding his eyes make him look cunning when he gets serious, and also symbolize the deception and concealment of his Obfuscating Stupidity.
  • Hilariously Abusive Childhood: While his miserable life taking care of his mother is played dead serious, a montage of scenes featuring him being abused by Farnese as her servant boy is Played for Laughs.
  • Honor Before Reason: Zig-Zagged. Serpico has a complicated relationship with this trope because he takes Farnese's honor very seriously and will do anything for her within his abilities, no matter how unreasonable the cause, but prefers to settle things his own way and retaliates pragmatically, only attacking when he sees vulnerability and withdrawing when he's lost the advantage.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: Farnese does not know how to fight or even take care of herself, so Serpico has to be competent enough for the both of them to compensate.
  • In a Single Bound: Thanks to his magical cloak, he can leap tall buildings and cover huge distances by jumping with the help of the wind spirits.
  • In-Series Nickname: Puck calls him "Picolin."
  • I Wished You Were Dead: At one heretic burning, he is shocked and horrified to find his mother tied to a stake, about to be set on fire. His internal monologue questions if this is her revenge for the fact that he hated her and sometimes wished she were dead so that he could be free of her yoke.
  • Kill the Ones You Love: When his mother turns up tied to a stake during a heretic burning, and Serpico involuntarily utters the word "mother" upon recognizing her, Farnese demands that he prove his loyalty to her by throwing the torch on the bonfire. Serpico did not want to do it even though he had hated her and often wished her dead, but ultimately he obeyed Farnese and they set the fire together.
  • Know When to Fold 'Em: One of his greatest virtues is knowing when to withdraw and live to fight another day. Far from being a coward, Serpico is recklessly brave and will expose himself to extreme danger provided his plan has even a small chance of working. However, he will give it up when it becomes clear that he can't win.
  • The Lancer: Although he doesn't always approve of his "leader's" ways, he drifts into the role of being Guts' right hand man in combat after joining his party.
  • Long-Lost Relative: Farnese turns out to be his half-sister, and by extension her brothers Giorgio, Poliziano, and Magnifico are his half-brothers.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: One day young Serpico discovered that Federico do Vandimion is his father when the later recognized the locket picture of his mother. This simultaneously revealed that he had a half-sibling: Farnese.
  • Master Swordsman: Guts himself admits that Serpico is an excellent swordsman as well as a cunning planner. Before joining the Iron Chain Knights he fought countless duels and the practice shows. However, his lack of raw power compared to Guts forces him to rely as much on acrobatics and tactical awareness as skill with a blade.
  • Matricide: When his mother was arrested as a heretic and put to the pyre, Serpico had to throw the torch that would light the pyre to prove his loyalty. Although Serpico hated his mother and Farnese pushed him to do it in order to save him, having to burn her mother deeply shocked him and further twisted the relationship he had with Farnese.
  • Mistress and Servant Boy: His relationship with Farnese, which during their teenage years began to bear "strange fruit":
    "Since when was it that, despite her bent shape, Lady Farnese came to have feelings for me beyond those of a mistress for her servant?"
  • Muscles Are Meaningful: Serpico's cut but lean musculature indicates he's a fine specimen of a Fragile Speedster who relies on evasion, in contrast to more massively muscled tanks like Guts.
  • My Master, Right or Wrong: Serpico considers it his duty to follow and support Farnese no matter what. Even if he acknowledges that she is wrong, he usually does not contradict her unless what she wants is simply impossible.
  • Noble Male, Roguish Male: Plays the Noble Male to Guts' Roguish Male.
  • Not Quite Flight: Serpico's Sylph Cloak, imbued with wind elemental spirits, allows him to move at quick speeds and essentially glide through the air when he jumps.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Purposefully pretends to be a kluzty and laid back doormat so that people will underestimate him, even though he is actually very competent and serious. The charming clumsiness is just an act from the start, and should not be confused with Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass.
  • Orphan's Plot Trinket: Has a locket containing a portrait of his mother and father when they were young. Although it's technically not an orphan's plot trinket because his parents were both alive, it does lead him to the truth of who his father really is.
  • I Owe You My Life: His service to Farnese was initially because she rescued him from the street, and she actually Invoked this trope by saying he belonged to her because she saved his life. The reason he stays, however, is that he finds out how lonely and twisted she is from being neglected by her parents and feels like the only person who can really take care of her.
  • Parental Neglect: His father never even bothered to look for him and his mother, much less care for them, and only starts supporting him when he rediscovers his identity (accidentally at that).
  • Razor Wind: His feather sword creates gusts of wind that neatly cut things in two.
  • Power Stereotype Flip: Upon looking at his magic wind-related gear, Serpico somberly notes that wind spirits are bound by nothing breeze through anywhere. He considers it ironic to wield them as he's deeply bound to Farnese's service and too serious to be free-spirited.
  • Powers via Weapon: Serpico is gifted the Sylph Sword, a fan-like sword with a blade of feathers blessed by the wind spirits, letting him launch Razor Wind and slice apart enemies from a distance.
  • The Rival: Not the main antagonist to Guts in any sense, but acts as a challenging recurring foe to him. Serpico develops more and more grudging respect for Guts each time they fight, and the feeling is mutual.
  • Royal Bastard: He is the bastard son of a noble named Federico do Vandimion and a maid.
  • Royal Rapier: Wields a rapier with finesse, and is a low-ranking noble of the Vandimion family.
  • Sarcastic Devotee: Probably the most cynical member on the team (next to Guts anyway) but wrapped in a snarky layer of goodness that prevents him from being a deserter, mainly for Farnese's sake.
  • Satellite Character: Invoked. Serpico devotes everything to Farnese, following her wherever she goes, and the decisions he makes independent of her are always done for her sake. The fact that she has been drifting away from him has been leaving Serpico unsure of what his future really holds.
  • Servile Snarker: He follows Farnese's every whim and comes across as a bit of a doormat, but he snarks at everyone including Farnese herself.
  • Sherlock Scan: When the Holy Iron Chain Knights catch up to Guts' trail of corpses in the Lost Children chapter, Sir Azan says the bodies look like they were blasted apart by cannon fire and supposes the Black Swordsman must have been leading a group of soldiers. Serpico corrects him by stating he thinks it was done by one man, noticing that the wounds appear on closer inspection to have been caused by some kind of massive blade swung at incredible speed. Seeing that the bodies are all in the same state he guesses they were killed with the same kind of blade and that it would seem unnatural to propose that more than one man exists who could handle such a freakish weapon.
  • Shirtless Scene: A couple of times he is seen without his shirt, such as when receiving Flora's gifts and in the flashback when Farnese inspects his dueling scars.
  • The Stoic: Almost never loses his cool, even in battles. When he does, it means things are getting serious.
  • Surprise Incest: There was a time when Serpico saw Farnese in a romantic light. But when he finds out that she's actually his half-sister, his feelings for her become more brotherly. He resisted when she made a sexual advance on him, which she took as a painful rejection. After she was sent to a convent for trying to burn the mansion down, he recalls that whatever romantic feelings had developed between them were snuffed out.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
    • A stoic pretty boy lancer who fights with a saber and has a rivalry with Guts? They even have a similar way of being genial and childish when at ease but getting a frightening intensity in their eyes when fighting for something they care about: In Griffith's case it's being Yandere towards Guts, and in Serpico's case it's being violently protective of Farnese. At the same time their personalities could hardly be more different, since Griffith is ambitious and tries to control other people while Serpico has devoted his life to serving someone else.
    • Similarly, a regular snarker who would be just as happy to kill Guts to protect his original companions at least at first as to accept working along with him as his superior demands, usually with a plan to get out of Dodge if a battle looks too dicey? Between his secure noble status, competence, and genuine bravery, Serpico is the man Corkus wishes he was!
  • Team Chef: The most competent cook in the group, who usually prepares everyone's meals.
  • Xanatos Speed Chess: Unlike Griffith, a chessmaster whose plans account for all possibilities, and Guts, who relies purely on the Indy Ploy, Serpico will go into a fight with an initial plan but modify it in reaction to unexpected setbacks. When he duels Guts in the Birth Ceremony Chapter, he chooses a narrow ledge as the place to encounter Guts so that he can effectively negate Guts' weapons and physical abilities, relentlessly attacking him with his sword so that Guts has no chance to attack and can only block with his iron hand. When Guts turns the tables by performing a Barehanded Blade Block and breaking Serpico's sword, freeing him to use his repeating crossbow, Serpico dives under the incoming bolts, swings to the other side of the ledge, pickpockets one of Guts' miniature bombs that he'd only seen once before, and uses the explosion to escape.

    Isidro 

Isidro (イシドロ, Ishidoro)

Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Japanese, Berserk: Millennium Falcon Hen Seima Senki no Shō), Hiro Shimono (Japanese, Berserk (2016) and Berserk and the Band of the Hawk), Erik Kimerer (English, Berserk (2016))

Guidebook Stats:note  Height: 130 cm (4 ft, 3 in); Weight: 48 kg (92 lb, 9.5 oz); Age: 14

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/isidro_300.jpg
Click here to see Isidro in Seima Senki no Sho.
Click here to see Isidro in Berserk (2016).

A cheeky and hot-headed young vagabond who ran away from home in search of adventure about a year before we first see him, Isidro supports himself through thievery as an Artful Dodger, but dreams of becoming the ultimate swordsman. In this regard he is comically Wrong Genre Savvy, acting as if he's the main character of a Shōnen manga and using overly flashy swordsmanship instead of playing to his natural strength as a Combat Pragmatist. Upon first witnessing Guts cut down a whole unit of Kushan scouts single-handed, Isidro follows him out of hero-worship and admiration, though he claims to Puck that he just wants to "steal" Guts' technique for himself; Puck offers to instruct Isidro in "Elf Dimension Style," a Running Gag that inaugurates their partnership in goofy Comic Relief. Although cocky and abrasive, as well as a bit of a pervert, Isidro can also be surprisingly chivalrous and brave. He risks his life to protect Casca and Nina during the Chapter of the Birth Ceremony, including an Indy Ploy that saves Casca from burning at the stake.

Despite trying his best and taking lessons from Guts, he is still not very effective in combat at first due to his rashness, use of an adult-sized longsword that throws him off balance, and fixation on imitating Guts instead of using techniques suited to his smaller frame. In the Chapter of the Holy Demon War, he takes an immediate dislike to Schierke for being stuck up and bossy, while at the same time her great power and experience aggravate his own insecurity and sense of uselessness. While he's brooding, an old man named Morgan offers him advice and gives him a short falchion to use with his spinning techniques. When Isidro swallows his pride and decides to develop his own style by combining the falchion with Flora's fire dagger in a Dual Wielding technique incorporating rapid dodges and spins, he manages to defeat a troll leader and begins to realize his potential. Over time his relationship with Schierke has improved, to the point where they are more like Vitriolic Best Buds. In the Fantasia Arc he has become attracted to the new party member Isma, though whether anything will come of it has yet to be determined.


  • Accidental Pervert: He is a pervert, but many times he just happens upon indecently-dressed women, like Nina and Isma. He also accidentally gropes Schierke's chest when they first meet.
  • Animal Motifs: The monkey. He shows several traits and behaviors associated with monkeys such as being weak compared to their predators but good at acrobatics and climbing; stealing food and anything that isn't nailed down; fighting by throwing projectiles such as rocks; and by being generally rude, mischievous, and cheeky. Several people he meets make this connection (see Phrase Catcher), and Schierke not only calls him a monkey whenever he's being annoying, but actually punished him for accidentally groping her by hexing him to act like a monkey, much to his indignation.
  • The Apprentice: Isidro begins receiving instruction from Guts in the ways of swordsmanship after joining the party, although unlike most apprenticeships this does not involve learning and imitating the style of his master. Guts says right out that he doesn't have time to teach Isidro properly, and his own Lightning Bruiser fighting style isn't suitable for someone of Isidro's small stature to learn anyway. Therefore, he tries to encourage Isidro's natural improvisations while at the same time training him not to use techniques he imitated from someone with a totally different build.
  • The Artful Dodger: After running away from home he supported his vagrant lifestyle through thievery, demonstrating the ability to carry off absurdly large amounts of stolen food and valuables inside his clothes. Even after joining Guts' new group and gaining some stability he still occasionally pickpockets people and shoplifts from merchants.
  • Bleed 'Em and Weep: Happens in a downplayed manner while fighting the pirates on the docks in Vritannis. He almost has a Heroic BSoD after he cuts down his first enemy whom he realizes was a human rather than a monster (he didn't kill them outright, but gave them heavily bleeding wounds). Mule criticizes him for his softheartedness, telling him he's no fighter if he doesn't have killer instinct.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: Rude and ill-mannered, he is a master at the art of provoking and pissing people off.
  • Butt-Monkey: Whenever there's some slapstick comedy to be had, he's often on the receiving end.
  • Casanova Wannabe: Believes himself to be a Kid A Nova. Luca and her girls weren't too impressed by him, though.
  • Chivalrous Pervert: Isidro's a good kid, as he won't hesitate to help people, especially girls. However, he does have his pervy side, as he's tried to peek at Casca bathing on more than one occasion (though he's thwarted each time).
  • Choice of Two Weapons: For a long time he tried to use an adult-sized longsword, but it didn't work in his favor since it was too big for him. He was then given a dagger blessed by the fire spirits, but at the time he didn't fully recognize its potential. He finally receives a small falchion from Morgan of Enoch village, who thought that it would complement his small stature and speed, and this works out a lot better. He's since been able to use the fire dagger more aptly.
  • Combat Pragmatist: When not aping Guts' sword techniques, he uses his agility and guile to great effect.
  • Convection, Schmonvection: Appears to be an actual feature of his fire dagger to keep it user-friendly - despite it being hot enough to cook an entire enemy with a single stab, Isidro suffers no ill-effects from wielding it.
  • Deliberately Cute Child: His usual tactic to bail himself out of situations where he's been caught red-handed, or to trick people into trusting him so he can con them.
  • Dirty Kid: Has frequently displayed incredibly lewd behavior, at one point even fantasizing about having sex with five prostitutes at once.
  • Disaster Scavengers: Before meeting Guts, he was surviving by pilfering whatever food or useful items he could find amid the disasters of plague and war.
  • Dual Wielding: Usually uses both his falchion and his fire dagger in battle.
  • Fiery Redhead: Red-headed and Hot-Blooded. It's emphasized by the fact that his magical weapon is a fire dagger.
  • Flipping the Bird: As Captain Bonebeard retreats with his tail between his legs, having been repelled by the captain and crew of the Seahorse, the cheeky Isidro sees him off with a combined Bicep-Polishing Gesture and middle-finger-salute, shouting "I hope a shark bites your ass!"
  • Hero-Worshipper:
    • Isidro idolizes Guts and follows him because he wants to learn from him and become a Master Swordsman himself, but he isn't good for much besides gawking at Guts' heroics and the occasional Indy Ploy before he Took a Level in Badass during the fight in Qliphoth.
    • Humorously, Isidro was inspired to take up the sword by listening to stories of the Band of the Hawk, particularly their Raid Commander, though Isidro can't remember what his name was. Leads to a hilarious scene where Isidro goes into fanboy mode and starts listing off all the stories he's heard about "the Hundred Man Slayer"... with an embarrassed-looking Guts standing a few feet behind him.
      Guts: (It's been embellished...)
  • Hormone-Addled Teenager: Being in the throes of puberty, his head's already loaded with plans to lose his virginity and such. He imagines Luca and her girls rewarding him with a "five-in-one service," for starters...
  • Hot Blade: Wields a broad-bladed dagger covered in Salamanders, fire elementals hot enough to burn through almost anything and instantly (and messily) kill anything he stabs with it.
  • Hot-Blooded: Prone to shouting at the top of his lungs to both friends and enemies about how he's about to do something awesome or going to become the greatest swordsman in the world.
  • Improv Fu: His fighting style of choice. He makes up his moves as he goes along, uses anything at hand to confuse his foes, and usually goes about skipping and evading blows thanks to his agility and his small size.
  • Indy Ploy: Improvises a means to rescue Casca from burning at the stake using a rope to lower himself down from the wall above and a counterweight to pull them back up.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He tends to act rude and tactless even towards people he likes, but he cares a lot more than he lets on. In Vritannis, for example, he hurt Schierke's feelings more than he meant to by knocking her hat into the street, and when she stormed off on her own, he searched the city for her with great urgency and rushed to her aid when she was in danger.
  • Jumped at the Call: He just up and left his home one day with a sword in hand to seek his own personal fortune, and has been following Guts ever since first seeing him.
  • I Just Want to Be Badass: Deconstructed. Because he emulates Guts and his BFS, he tries to fight like him while being oblivious to his own fighting style: he's scrawny and small, but he's fast, quick-witted, and handy with thrown weapons and short blades. Once he starts focusing on his own strengths instead of trying in vain to imitate Guts, he becomes a legitimately good fighter.
  • Kid-Appeal Character: A subversion. The series isn't aimed at kids in the first place, but if it was, he'd be one since he ticks most of the boxes.
  • Kid Samurai: Deconstructed. Due to the cynical tendencies of the series, it is clearly implied that Isidro would make little impression on the battlefield due to his size and lack of skills. To be fair, Guts' tutelage is beginning to pay off.
  • Mouthy Kid: Acts like a smartass towards everyone else in the party. But after some tutelage from Guts and more exposition to the reality of battle, he mellows out considerably, becoming more respectful and attentive to Guts' advice and commands. He still mouths off to people he doesn't know, though...
  • No Indoor Voice: Isidro often talks loudly when he's excited, but trope really kicks in during episode 290 after the first sea battle between the Seahorse and the pirates. Both Isidro and Puck have been deafened by the noise of the cannons, so when they go below deck to gush about it to their companions, they talk so loudly that everyone covers their ears in pain.
  • Nose Bleed: Tends to suffer nosebleeds as a result of sexual arousal, with a particularly amusing one being when he first met Isma and her attempts to patch the cut on his head only led to his nose gushing from seeing her chest.
  • One-Hit Kill: His enchanted dagger is so ridiculously hot that anything it stabs will be instantly cooked from the inside out. His combat technique basically consists of using his much more ordinary sword to create an opening so that he can end the fight with a single stab.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: He felt like this when Schierke entered the party. Everyone immediately recognized her powers and followed her lead, while he struggled to be taken seriously even though he was there first. Over time he manages to find his place and feel less insecurity.
  • Phrase Catcher: Each of the prostitutes he meets—Luca, Fouquet, and Nina—have the same question when they notice him: "Who's the monkey?"
  • Playing with Fire: The dagger from Flora given to him by Schierke has a blade magically crafted from molten lava and imbued with the spirits of fire lizards, causing anything struck with it to ignite and burn.
  • Please Put Some Clothes On: When he rescues Casca and Nina in volume 19, he notices Nina's nakedness and starts blushing. Too embarrassed to look at her or say anything, he turns his back while slouching and holding his legs together to hide his Raging Stiffie, and hands her his coat so she can cover herself. A true Chivalrous Pervert indeed!
  • Plucky Comic Relief: Alongside Puck, his harebrained antics including sword training, theft, and trash-talking generate most of the regular comedy in the party. Downplayed, as he has characterization outside of comedy, but still counts because he doesn't have as much emotional baggage as the others.
  • Raging Stiffie: A Running Gag is his tendency to get a hard-on from being aroused at inappropriate times, which he awkwardly tries to hide by slouching.
  • Red Oni: He's the passionate, headstrong, and wild Red Oni to Schierke's level-headed and rational Blue Oni.
  • The Runaway: About a year before he met Guts he ran away from his home village in order to escape his boring life and seek fame and fortune.
  • Spectacular Spinning: His fighting style when fighting groups in close quarters is to spin and roll around at high speeds, attacking weak points and dodging attacks.
  • Stay in the Kitchen: Isidro has a downplayed version of this attitude that comes partly from his macho act, and partly from his sense of chivalry. He sometimes complains about having to "guard the women and children" (by which he means Farnese, Casca, and Schierke) instead of being free to fight huge monsters like Guts and Serpico, but he acknowledges that Schierke is really strong and takes his job seriously. In particular he warns Isma to stay away from the fighting based on the not unreasonable assumption that she doesn't know how, but when he sees that she's surprisingly good at it he is quick to praise her ingenuity.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: In terms of ability, he's a great with thrown weapons and has taken up Dual Wielding, which makes his skill set very similar to Judeau. In terms of personality, he's similar to Corkus, who like him was a disrespectful former thief who claimed he was only following the gang for his own advancement and was also prone to bragging. Thankfully, compared to Corkus, Isidro's heart of gold isn't so deeply buried. Considering his age, he's quite similar to Rickert.
  • Tagalong Kid: At first he follows uninvited after Guts because of his hero worship and acts as little more than a nuisance to him. This gets increasingly downplayed starting when he helps to rescue Casca and Nina, and before too long, he's pulling his own weight in the party.
  • To Be a Master: Isidro's whole motivation behind following Guts around, even if his plan doesn't seem that practical at times.
  • Took a Level in Badass: His breakthrough in swordsmanship happens when he defeats the troll leader. After almost being killed in his last fight, and being told by Guts to take responsibility for holding a weapon and protect the others in his stead, Isidro finally drops his pride and begins utilizing the natural advantages of his size and speed. This simple change catapulted him straight from The Load to a formidable fighting force in his own right.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: At first he and Schierke simply hate each other, but over time they grow to depend on one another even though the insults remain as sharp as ever.
  • Vocal Dissonance: In the 2004 videogame Berserk: Millennium Falcon Hen Seima Senki no Shō, Isidro's voice courtesy of Hiroyuki Yoshino sounds implausibly grown-up for his age.
  • Volleying Insults: He and Schierke argue with each other like cats and dogs on a regular basis, using increasingly petty name-calling and put-downs. He also trades insults with Mule in Vritannis while they're punching the crap out of each other's faces.
  • Weak, but Skilled: He doesn't have the raw combat experience that Guts and Serpico possess, and whenever he tries to fight with a sword, he tends to make a fool of himself. However, Isidro performs much better whenever he relies on his cunning, trickery, and ability to throw things with deadly accuracy, which has allowed him to defeat and outfox monsters and groups of grown men all by himself.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: Believes himself the main protagonist of a Shōnen fighting series, when he's actually in a more cynical Seinen work.

    Schierke 

Schierke (シールケ, Shīruke)

Voiced by: Yukana (Japanese, Berserk: Millennium Falcon Hen Seima Senki no Shō), Chiwa Saitō (Japanese, Berserk (2016) and Berserk and the Band of the Hawk), Mela Lee (English, Berserk (2016))

Guidebook Stats:note  Height: 120 cm (3 ft, 11 in); Weight: 31 kg (68 lb, 5.5 oz); Age: 13

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/schierke_ivalera_300.jpg
Schierke with Ivalera.
Click here to see her in Seima Senki no Sho.
Click here to see her in Berserk and the Band of the Hawk.

"No matter their strength, for a human, to fight a monster means to let go of their humanity and become an even bigger monster."

A precociously intelligent but socially inept young magic user apprenticed to the benevolent witch Flora, Schierke first encounters Guts' companions when she saves Casca, Farnese, and Isidro from a pack of trolls in the woods near Enoch village. She and Isidro immediately dislike each other, as she views the rambunctious boy as an uncivilized 'monkey' while he sees her as a stuck-up know-it-all. She lends her powers to Guts and his companions at the request of Flora, who wishes them to stop the rampaging trolls in return for her help on their quest.

Schierke is at first a reluctant companion, as she distrusts the non-magical folk and their Church who have suppressed magic through their intolerance. She has a strong sense of justice, and is often appalled at how humans mistreat both nature and each other. However, she gradually warms up to her new friends, especially towards Guts whom she develops a Precocious Crush on. After the destruction of the woodland mansion she sets off with Guts and his companions in their quest to reach Elfhelm.

In combat, Schierke is a Squishy Wizard who has to be protected by the frontline fighters of the party, as her powerful spells take time to cast and she has no control over her physical body when she uses astral projection. Her help is invaluable as she can wipe out whole armies of enemies using elemental magic, helps coordinate the group's actions through thought transference, and is the only person who can enable Guts to use the Berserker Armor's power while keeping his sanity. She has a smart-mouthed female elf companion named Ivalera, and is currently tutoring Farnese in magic.

For those who have trouble pronouncing her name, which comes from German, an American English speaker should read it as they would pronounce "SHEER-keh."


  • Action Girl: A young girl who can wipe out an entire army with her powerful magic.
  • Animal Motifs: According to Sonia, Schierke is represented by an owl, an animal that signifies intelligence and is associated with Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom.
  • Astral Projection: One of her main powers is to leave her body in spirit form, which allows her to summon spirits and merge with Guts and the Berserker Armor.
  • Badass Adorable: Very cute. Will tear you apart with her magic powers if you commit evil in front of her.
  • Barbie Doll Anatomy: Averted; being a child doesn't exempt her from being drawn anatomically correct, with nipples in this case. Since everyone gets naked in this series, it doesn't come off creepy.
  • Berserk Button: Gets really angry and upset when Isidro messes with her hat. Flora made her witch clothes for her, and now that she's gone, they're all that Schierke has left from her.
  • Black Bead Eyes: Her eyes are drawn as little black dots when she's in an off mood (usually involving Isidro annoying her).
  • Blue Oni: She's the level-headed and rational Blue Oni to Isidro's passionate, headstrong, and wild Red Oni.
  • Charm Person: When Schierke is led to a gallows by the souls of hanged Kushan slaves who are suffering for lack of proper last rites, she demands that the two soldiers present help her take them down for cremation, and they comply. She tells Sonia afterward that she used something akin to suggestion on them.
  • Cute Witch: She's only about ten or twelve years old, but is already skilled enough at magic that she begins teaching a woman ten years her senior the basics of witchcraft. She has little in common with Magical Girls, though, and more with traditional Western witches: while not ugly or evil, she prefers a reclusive lifestyle out in the country, and her powers largely revolve around channeling local nature spirits and Astral Projection. Her spells also take a long time to set up, so she's near-useless in close combat. But when she's ready to unleash a spell, she can rival Guts, the series resident badass, with how many enemies she takes out.
  • Eating the Eye Candy: While applying a protective seal over the Brand while Guts' shirtless, Schierke notices how large and strong his back is and begins blushing.
  • Glass Cannon: Hits hard with her magic, but is still a child and vulnerable to just about any physical attack.
  • Humans Are Bastards: Schierke believes this at first. She observes that people have harmed nature and the old spirits by building cities where no spirits can reside and suppressing belief in magic through their Church, and that all sorts of evils including war and slavery are practiced. However, her view eventually softens to Humans Are Flawed because of her companions and all the people she's met who are trying to make a difference.
  • Implausible Hair Colour: So far, the only human character in the whole story to have an unnatural hair colour, in her case bluish-green. There's also blue-haired Isma, but she's actually half-merrow.
  • Jedi Mind Trick: Gets the guards at the gates of Vritannis to let her through despite her witch outfit by magically diverting their attention. It gets counterproductive when she starts doing it to anyone in sight, which makes an even bigger scene, and Isidro tells her to just change her outfit already.
  • Kid with the Leash: The only party member capable of bringing Berserker Guts back to his senses, and the only person other than the Child who can do it at all.
  • Little Miss Badass: This little girl is capable of unleashing untold amounts of destruction. And she can stare down things that would reduce most grown men to tears without batting an eye.
  • Little Miss Snarker: She was around 11 or 12 when she was first introduced, and bitingly sarcastic towards those who get on her nerves, especially Isidro.
  • Loner-Turned-Friend: Lived alone except for her master, but has since become True Companions with Guts and the others.
  • Magic Hair: Uses locks of her hair as a catalyst in some of her spells.
  • Magic Staff: Focuses her magic through her staff.
  • Make Them Rot: Once Guts' companions have evacuated the women and children of Enoch village from the trolls' den in Qliphoth, Schierke destroys the pursuing trolls and seals the portal between worlds by channeling a nature spirit of the place. A hulking figure made of roots that looms behind Schierke while using her body as a puppet, it calls itself the Rotting Root Lord, chief of rotting trees and putrid mud. Through Schierke's body it speaks the command, "ROT." and blows air upon the ground, which upon touching the trolls causes them to instantly decompose into a steaming heap of putrid, almost liquified carcasses.
  • Making a Splash: Washed away the besieging trolls in Enoch Village by summoning a great flood.
  • Meaningful Name: Her name is that of a mountain village in Germany, which is right next to the Brocken - the mountain of witches.
  • The Mentor: Schierke is mentoring Farnese in magic.
  • A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: Peeking into Guts' mind exposes her to the full force of his rage and hatred, but she helps him wrest control of himself from the Beast of Darkness. More humorously, when she looks into Isidro's mind and sees what he's seeing, she gets an eyeful of Isma's cleavage.
  • Mission Control: Much like Sonia, her telepathic abilities make her one of these.
  • Nature Lover: Because she grew up in the woods in harmony with nature, she loves natural surroundings and hates the city with its crowds, noise, and lack of places for the spirits.
  • No Social Skills: She's been isolated all her childhood long from the rest of the world and is a bit awkward in social situations because of this. However, it is highly compensated in the refined etiquette Flora, her mistress, taught her.
  • Number Two: Despite being the youngest member of the group, she's Guts' closest confidante, and her ability to travel with him via her astral body and suppress the Beast of Darkness's influence means she's the only character who can follow Guts into the heat of battle.
  • Playing with Fire: Can unleash fire as one of her elemental powers, such as when she incinerated a swarm of Daka on the docks of Vritannis by summoning a spirit called the Wheel of Flame.
  • Precocious Crush: Though she disliked Guts at first, she has grown to admire and develop precocious feelings for him since the end of the Chapter of the Holy Demon War, which Ivalera gleefully teases her about. By the Fantasia Arc, Schierke is coming to accept that their relationship will always be platonic, but she takes comfort in the fact that she experiences a bond with him through their astral connection that no one else in the party shares with him.
  • Robe and Wizard Hat: Her witch clothes are the only outfit she wears, and Isidro finds out the hard way that she is very attached to them as they were hand-made for her by her beloved mentor.
  • School Swimsuit: In a humorous non-canon illustration that Miura includes with a thank-you message to the fans in volume 34, Schierke wears an inflatable tube and a Japanese school swimsuit with her name written on the front.
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: When she is given a set of normal clothing by an innkeeper's wife so she won't stand out on the streets of Vritannis in her witches' clothes, everyone in the party agrees she looks great.
  • Shy Blue-Haired Girl: She has poor social skills and gets upset easily, and has bluish-green hair.
  • Skilled, but Naive: Rather than having a straight-up Fatal Flaw. Schierke is young and incredibly skilled at what she does. Unfortunately, due to her lack of experience in the outside world, both in social and magical terms, she sometimes lets her immense power go over her head, with some consequences. She's learning from her mistakes, though.
  • Squishy Wizard: Despite her tremendous spiritual strength and advanced spellcasting skills, she is the physically weakest of the party, as well as the only one who has no weapons training.
  • This Is Unforgivable!: While speaking with the Skull Knight at the seashore, she says it's unforgivable that Griffith ordered his troops to eliminate her mentor Flora because she was a threat to his power.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: At first she and Isidro simply hate each other, but over time they grow to depend on one another even though the insults remain as sharp as ever.
  • Volleying Insults: She often gets into juvenile name-calling arguments with Isidro.
  • Water Is Womanly: Schierke, an intelligent, cute young witch, can summon the Lady of the Deep Water, who manifests as a female angel with dominion over the Undines. The Lady was worshipped by the ancestors of the inhabitants of Enoch, but was forgotten when the church of Holy See was built in its sanctuary. In accordance with an ancient oath, she is summoned to cleanse evil spirits, drowning monsters in a flood of water.
  • Willing Channeler: Schierke's greatest elemental magics require her to summon the elemental spirit of a particular place and allow it to partially possess her body as she casts the spell. It is a mutually beneficial exchange rather than one party exploiting the other, but Schierke must be careful not to let the outside presence's power overwhelm her ego or the results can be dangerous.
  • Wise Beyond Her Years: She is one of the most level-headed members of the current True Companions, although she remains somewhat naive sometimes.
  • Young and in Charge: Schierke is only about 13 by the Chapter of Elf Island according to the Guide Book, and yet she is arguably the de facto leader of the party because she is wise and powerful beyond her years. If Guts is the Magnetic Hero who inspires and unites them, Schierke is the one who actually knows how to get to Elfhelm, coordinates everyone's combat through thought transference, and figures out a plan whenever they encounter some magical obstacle. Sometimes her youthful insecurity causes her to doubt herself, but when all's said and done her rational thinking and courage under pressure are what make her the rock whose stability everyone depends on.

    Puck and Ivalera 

Puck (パック, Pakku)

Voiced by: Yuriko Fuchizaki (Japanese, Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage and Berserk: Millennium Falcon Hen Seima Senki no Shō), Kaoru Mizuhara (Japanese, Berserk (2016) and Berserk and the Band of the Hawk), Cam Clarke (English, Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage), Sarah Anne Williams (English, Berserk (2016))

Guidebook Stats:note  Height: 15 cm (6 in); Weight: 20 g (0.7 oz)

Ivalera (イバレラ, Ibarera)

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura (Japanese, Berserk: Millennium Falcon Hen Seima Senki no Shō), Satomi Arai (Japanese, Berserk (2016) and Berserk and the Band of the Hawk), Tara Sands (English, Berserk (2016))

Guidebook Stats:note  Height: 17 cm (6.7 in); Weight: 18 g (0.6 oz)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/puck_and_ivalera.png
Every badass should have a Fairy Companion. Ivalera, left; Puck, right.
Click here to see Puck in Berserk (2016)

"Aw, c'mon! You know this story would be too dark if I weren't around!"*
— Puck

"For crying out loud! Right when I think he's healed and his wounds haven't opened for three days, he's already ragged and torn all over! I'm gonna shrivel up! My maidenly skin is gonna dry up!"
— Ivalera

A duo of diminutive pixies whose comic antics sometimes cause trouble, Puck and Ivalera can nevertheless offer valuable advice in the midst of battle and help Guts patch up after fights using their magical healing dust.

Puck is a goofy but kindhearted soul who was a member of a traveling circus before they were attacked by the bandits of Koka Castle. He was being used as a target for throwing knife practice when Guts killed his tormentors, and despite Guts' efforts to shake him off he insisted on becoming his Fairy Companion and Morality Chain. He can also act as a Deadpan Snarker and occasionally breaks the fourth wall. He usually travels in Guts' pouch and shows a strange attachment to the Behelit Guts is carrying with him - which they took from the Count - and prevented him several times from getting rid of it.

Ivalera was responsible for watching over Schierke while she was Flora's apprentice, and joined the party together with her human charge. She's snarky and full of herself, playing off of Puck in a Boke and Tsukkomi Routine.


  • Adapted Out: Puck is left out of Berserk (1997), probably because it reduces the Black Swordsman arc to just one out of 25 episodes, and ends with the Golden Age Arc: if included he would have only appeared in the Snake Baron encounter, and in a brief cameo where he crosses paths with Rickert, so they may have seen him as superfluous. However, he's been included in every adaptation since then.
  • Art Shift: Puck spends most of his time as a chibi, which is his default state when he's being funny. He only gets to look real when he's being serious(ish). Ivalera isn't exempt from this either.
  • Audience Surrogate: Puck more or less served this role during the Black Swordsman Story Arc, allowing the audience to observe Guts as a ruthless Anti-Hero from the perspective of an innocent bystander who doesn't know Guts' past.
  • Barbie Doll Anatomy: Despite being totally naked, Puck looks like a Ken doll with no private parts to be seen. This actually becomes significant in the Lost Children arc where it distinguishes him from Rosine's fake elves. We've never seen Ivalera without her dress, so we don't know if it applies to her too, although it presumably does.
  • Big Eater: Puck and Ivalera can both eat many times their own weight in food, as they demonstrated at the Vandimion mansion in Vritannis where they consumed all the dinner sweets meant for a huge party in one sitting.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: They sometimes draw attention to the fact that they're in a fictional story, usually with a random Shout-Out to another anime show in the midst of a heated battle.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Zigzagged a bit since the story starts in the middle, but Puck is briefly mentioned during the Golden Age arc by Judeau, but later becomes Guts' first travel companion when he's the Black Swordsman. Puck actually makes reference to the manner in which they became companions.
  • City Mouse: Ivalera tends to act haughty around other elves, being of the opinion that they're all a bunch of ill-mannered bumpkins. Ironically, due to the higher elven population and the fact that it's ruled by the sovereign of elves, Elfhelm is more akin to a city than the spirit tree Ivalera came from.
  • The Conscience: Puck tries to be this to Guts. He's not too successful at first because Guts doesn't give a damn about the morality of his actions most of the time, but after they've been through a lot together Guts begins listening to him more.
  • Curtains Match the Window: Ivalera has pink eyes and hair, and Puck has blue hair and blue eyes.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Both of them constantly snark at the events that occur around them.
    Puck (to Guts): I thought you didn't have any friends. Who knew you were friends with a monster?
    (to the Skull Knight): Ah, not to be racist to monsters. This guy is so lonely, please be friends with him. My name is Puck!
  • Demoted to Comic Relief: At first, Puck was Guts' only companion, as well as his Morality Chain when he could actually get him to listen, and he got multiple serious moments because of this. He also served as Guts' medic with his fairy powers. However, as more companions have joined their party and taken over those roles, Puck has mostly become relegated to comic relief, rarely appearing in his non-chibi form or in any serious scenarios.
  • Demoted to Extra: In Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III - Advent, Puck's cameo with the traveling entertainers is non-speaking, compared to the manga scene where he had some lines. Downplayed because his appearance in the Golden Age was very small to begin with.
  • Determinator: It takes Puck a looong time, but eventually all the free healing he keeps providing pays off and Guts becomes more friendly to him. The pivotal moment comes in volume 16 when Guts finally calls Puck by his name. After that, they become Vitriolic Best Buds. It's a big step forward since back in the early manga, Guts came close to flat-out offing Puck a few times. Rickert eventually points out that Puck was the only thing keeping Guts human during his two-year demon hunts.
  • Distaff Counterpart: Ivalera is a female counterpart to Puck.
  • Dub Name Change: Ivalera becomes Evarella in the French translation.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: Only certain people can see elves...except in the Black Swordsman Arc where everyone can see Puck just fine.
  • The Empath: Both of them can sense the inner emotions of others, which makes Puck a Rare Male Example of this. Puck is often overwhelmed by Guts' intensely hostile emotions during the whole Conviction Arc, especially when both were Walking the Earth.
  • Fairy Companion: Diminutive fairy sidekicks who follow their human charges, offering advice and magical healing. Puck is Guts' companion, while Ivalera is Schierke's.
  • Fairy Sexy: Ivalera isn't naked like Puck, but her gossamer dress leaves little to the imagination, and the skirt is only just barely long enough to cover her rear, and there are times when it will hike up and expose it.
  • Fluffy Tamer: Puck is the self-appointed caretaker of the gang's Behelit. According to him, reality-warping demonic gateways to the netherworld powered by despair and hopelessness are quite fond of cheese.
  • Foil: During the Black Swordsman Arc, he and Guts make a contrasting pair: Puck is small and weak, while Guts is big and strong; Puck is kind and altruistic, while Guts is callous and selfish; and Puck wears his emotions on his sleeve, while Guts is stoic and guarded; and Puck tends to be idealistic and believe Rousseau Was Right, while Guts is cynical and tends toward Humans Are Bastards.
  • Healing Hands: Both of them can heal wounds with their magic elf powder. The whole reason Guts started travelling with Puck was because he saved his life by healing him from severe injuries.
  • Large Ham: Puck gets boisterously egotistical when he's clowning around, calling himself "ore-sama" (roughly, "my illustrious self") and acting like he's the one unleashing Guts against the monsters, as well as bossing around Isidro as his fencing pupil in "elf dimension style."
  • Light 'em Up: Puck is able to cast a dazzling spark and can sometimes help in battle by blinding enemies with this power.
  • Massive Numbered Siblings: Puck turns out to have four brothers named Pick, Pack, Peck, and Pock, each of whom has a different number of spikes in their hairstyle to help differentiate them.
  • Medium Awareness: Puck displays a degree of fourth-wall awareness, and in his Super-Deformed comic-relief form often makes comedic references to other manga and movies.
  • Morality Chain: Puck often acts as the voice of morality when Guts is at his most violent and vengeful. Rickert thinks that Puck's presence was the main reason that Guts didn't completely lose himself during two years of hunting Apostles.
  • Mr. Exposition: Ivalera has taken this role for the team a few times when Schierke was unable to. She instructed Farnese in how to call Schierke back when she was "mixed" with the river spirit and told Isma about true names.
  • Nice Guy: Even when he's not being compared to Guts, Puck is one of the nicest characters in the series, being extremely empathetic, caring, and normally insisting of helping out other people.
  • Non-Action Snarker: Ivalera is a Rare Female Example. She talks shit, yet she doesn't do shit.
  • Not So Above It All: Despite Ivalera claiming she’s the responsible one, they can both be immature, ditzy, and lazy. Illustrated best during their infiltration of the Vandimion estate.
  • Not-So-Imaginary Friend: Being surrounded by people who can't see the supernatural (at least the non-aggressors), including Puck, a lot of people who encounter Guts wonder what he is talking to.
  • Our Fairies Are Different: Puck and Ivalera are tiny, youthful humanoids with insect wings and without primary sex characteristics who produce magical dust and serve as benevolent fairy companions. In the world of Berserk they are called pixies or piskeys, a sub-category of elves who are weak wind spirits.
  • Pantsless Males, Fully-Dressed Females: While Puck’s naked, Ivalera wears pasties and a tutu.
  • Parrot Pet Position: Both of them often perch on their humans' shoulders, though that isn't the only position they use. Ivalera likes to sit on the brim of Schierke's hat, while Puck often rides in Guts' pouch.
  • Pink Girl, Blue Boy: They're color-coded by gender. Ivalera's hair, eyes, wings, and dress are pink, while Puck's hair, eyes, and wings are blue.
  • Playful Cat Smile: Ivalera gets a mischievous cat grin when she starts shipping Schierke and Guts together.
  • Plucky Comic Relief: Puck mostly serves as the comedic foil to Guts' grim seriousness, a role shared with Ivalera when she joins the party.
  • The Prankster: Half the population of Skellig has it in for Puck because of all the pranks he's played on them.
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Puck is a nonviolent, gentle, and empathetic male, in contrast to Guts who represents a tough, stoic kind of masculinity.
  • Shipper on Deck: Ivalera tries to push Schierke toward Guts and teases her about her Precocious Crush or getting angry on Schierke's behalf when a potential rival appears, which usually gets her stuffed in Schierke's hat. In general, she has a weak spot for romance, as shown by her enthusiastic recounting of Roderick's first meeting with Farnese.
  • Shout-Out: Puck frequently performs funny impressions of characters from other stories. His repertoire includes Yoda, Doraemon, and the Danpei from Tomorrow's Joe.
  • Sidekick Creature Nuisance: Puck is a small, cutesy Fairy Companion sidekick who follows Guts while cracking jokes and nagging him to have a better attitude. At first Guts is annoyed by him and threatens to squash him like a bug a couple of times. It's only when Puck proves useful in his constant healing and driving away ghosts that Guts warms up to him. Schierke's Fairy Companion Ivalera shares this role for the group after she's introduced.
  • The Slacker: As he puts it himself, Puck's ultimate goal in life is to be the "King of Deadbeats" — free to eat all the snacks and loaf around all day. According to Danann, he is so bad at taking responsibilities that the very act of making him ruler of Elfhelm is to condemn the place into becoming a refuse pile. Also something of a Downplayed Trope as, while he is indeed lazy for the most part, Puck's also proven to be capable of small acts of heroism when it truly counts — like rescuing a collapsed and exhausted Guts from being possessed by a group of weak evil spirits.
  • Small Name, Big Ego:
    • Ivalera is a bit full of herself.
    • Puck manages to defeat a tiny darkness spirit and suddenly thinks he can beat them all. The appearance of the actual monsters who'd put Guts on the ropes quickly snaps him out of it.
  • Super-Deformed: When acting as comic relief, Puck is drawn with a stubby, plump body and chestnut-shaped head. Ivalera gets similarly chibified when playing tsukkomi to Puck's boke.
  • The Reveal: Puck is... *Drum Roll*
    I'm a spirit of the wind??? The shocking truth revealed now! I wasn't a chestnut!!?
  • Team Pet: Both Puck and Ivalera are the party's token nonhuman members.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Schierke is always practical, serious and frumpily dressed. Ivalera somewhat vain and more openly girly.
  • The Usurper: Played for laughs. At Magnifico's urging, Puck tries to usurp the position of Elfhelm's ruler upon the party's arrival there. Naturally, he fails.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Ivalera views Puck as an annoying goofball, but for all that they're inseparable companions and often cooperate, such as when they scouted the Vandimion mansion. For a time, one could say Puck and Guts had this relationship going as well since Guts frequently complained that Puck was annoying but accepted and acknowledged his help.
  • Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Ivalera definitely considers Puck a lesser being.
  • Women Are Wiser: Ivalera thinks she's this compared to Puck, but she's really Not So Above It All.
  • You Won't Like How I Taste: When left alone with Theresia, Puck assumes she's going to eat him and tries to talk her out of it:
    "Uh...I'm not very tasty. E-elves aren't very good for your digestion, y'know, not to mention we're high in calories."

    Azan 

Sir Azan (アザン, Azan)

Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto (Berserk (2016) and Berserk and the Band of the Hawk), Richard Epcar (English, Berserk (2016))

Guidebook Stats:note  Height: 157 cm (5 ft, 2 in); Weight: 95 kg (209 lb, 7 oz); Age: 46

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/azan.png

"Don't give up, knights are here to protect those in need! A knight's duty is to protect the weak!"

Azan is the second in command of the Holy Iron Chains Knights. An old-fashioned knight who has turned to the cloth, he always speaks of honor and loyalty. When the Holy Iron Chains Knights catch up to Guts, he challenges Guts to a duel, matching the injured Guts in combat. Azan manages to survive the events of the Tower of Conviction and decides to report the events to the Holy See, while Farnese and Serpico follow Guts.

He later reappears in Vritannis, living on the streets after having been kicked out of the Holy See and sleeping on boats. The pirate captain fighting Isidro steps on him, which prompts Azan to throw him into the water and beat up the rest of the pirates. Guts and his companions later end up sailing off with the boat he is sleeping on to Roderick's ship. As such, he is currently accompanying Guts towards Elfhelm.


  • 24-Hour Armor: Since he was kicked out of the Holy See, he's been running around clad in full plate, taking not even his helmet off to sleep. Since he's been pulled along on Roderick's ship he's been seen in and out of his armor, but never takes off his helmet, as he is trying to hide his true identity.
  • Acrofatic: Stout and stocky, but capable of leaping about and swinging his staff at hurricane-level speeds.
  • Badass Cape: Wears a cape as a sign of his old-fashioned heroism.
  • Badass Normal: Has no superpowers whatsoever, but manages to survive all sorts of supernatural danger.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Prone to making dramatic rescues in the nick of time, such as when he pops out of nowhere at the end of the Conviction arc and saves the women from the Bakirakas, and also in Vritannis when he saves Isidro and a group of kushan children from pirates.
  • The Big Guy: This Lightning Bruiser can match Guts head-on.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows: Has the kind of bushy eyebrows seen on cool old guys who can still kick your ass.
  • Calling Your Attacks: One of the few good characters to shout out the names of his attacks. "Summer Showers Thrust!!"
  • Carry a Big Stick: Wields an iron club-ended metal quarterstaff to bludgeon his enemies, and is known as Iron Club Azan. This may be a reference to the common but not necessarily accurate belief that fighting priests preferred weapons that wouldn't draw blood.
  • Celibate Hero: In response to Serpico's teasing him for still being single at his age, he retorts that he's something of a clergyman and has no intention of ever wedding.
  • Chained by Fashion: All the Holy Iron Chain Knights wear a simple emblem depicting the cross of chains representing their order. Azan wears actual chains on his armor linked in the shape of said emblem.
  • Church Militant: Part of a military order and fights for the Church.
  • The Comically Serious: A lot of humor comes from him being stoic or serious in the face of ridiculous situations.
  • Cool Helmet: His is a samurai-style kabuto with a face mask, which even has a mustache of its own. His helmet also is visually similar to the "grotesque" style of helmet prevalent in Europe during the 16th Century. Helmets bearing frightening faces, even facsimiles of facial hair, were created both to show the armorer's skill and be a distinct piece of armor for the owner.
  • Cool Old Guy: Despite his age he is active, tough, honorable, and wise.
  • Demoted to Comic Relief: In the Conviction arc, Azan acted as a somewhat hammy but overall serious Hero Antagonist and the Straight Man of the Holy Iron Chain Knights. Upon making a return in the Fantasia arc and joining Guts' companions, however, the rest of the companions receive much more focus and Character Development while Azan's more serious traits are put on the back-burner while he instead becomes the target of some slapstick comedy alongside Isidro.
  • Enemy Mine: Allies with Guts at the end of the Conviction arc to fight the Bakirakas.
  • The Faceless: Has not taken off his helmet ever since his reintroduction in Vritannis. He even cleans a ship's deck wearing nothing but pants and a helmet.
  • A Father to His Men: Acts much like a father to the young men who make up the Holy Iron Chains Knights, deciding to take on Guts himself rather than send more of his young men to senseless deaths. They look up to him as one too, cheering his fight against Guts and apologizing humbly after he scolds them for their behavior.
  • Good Old Ways: Azan adheres to the traditional courtesies and practices of knighthood, and is shown to be a good man for it despite being a little behind the times. When Serpico sees him formally exchange names with Guts, he remarks "How old-fashioned."
  • Heavy Sleeper: Somehow he managed to sleep off the entire duration of a raging battle throughout a city, thunderous booms of magical lightning, and people sailing off with the boat he's sleeping on. Add the fact that he snoozed through them all while still wearing full plate... and it gets ridiculous.
  • Hero Antagonist: Definitely one of the very few good and heroic people in Midland at the time, he just happens to be opposing Guts until the end of the Conviction arc.
  • Honor Before Reason: His backstory alone says everything about how he views the knight's code of chivalry. Azan once held up a hundred horsemen from crossing a narrow bridge just so he could escort one wounded old man to the opposite end.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: Because of his own idealistic nature, he has no doubt that Mr. Zepek has noble fatherly intentions in leading them to the Black Swordsman, when in reality, the latter is a Jerkass Glory Seeker.
  • Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Technically Farnese's second-in-command, but he is far more experienced and level-headed than she is.
  • Idiot Hero: Downplayed. Azan's not the brightest bulb of the crew and frequently puts his chivalrous sense of right and wrong over reason. That being said, he's still a warrior who's competent enough to put a wounded Guts on the ropes (which is a big feat, considering that Guts has been able to overcome a ton of obstacles despite grave injuries).
  • Incoming Ham: When he's sleeping in a boat and Captain Bonebeard accidentally treads on his face, he bursts up from under the tarp and demands, "WHO DARES?! WHO WOULD DENIGRATE THE FACE OF A KNIGHT?!" He takes one look at the situation, and declares, "SCOUNDRELS! I WILL DEAL WITH YOU!" as he proceeds to lay into the pirates.
  • Knight Errant: After being kicked out of the Holy See he turns to traveling and righting wrongs, even though he has to scrounge for his dinner.
  • Knight in Shining Armor: Despite his advanced age he is a pure example of an honor-bound and idealistic knight.
  • Large Ham: In battle, he issues formal challenges, calls out his attacks, and lectures any villains who fight dishonorably while he's beating them to a pulp — all the while speaking in a heavily grandiose manner. Making his every move dramatic is just an unavoidable side effect of taking knighthood and justice so seriously.
    *spinning his staff over his head*
    Azan: Get back, get back, get WEEEEEEEEEELL back!
  • Lightning Bruiser: Packs quite a punch with his iron staff and is amazingly fast despite his size and girth. Guts even notes that the rumors of his speed were understated.
  • No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Despite doing his best to save the civilians trapped at the Tower of Conviction from the hordes of evil spirits seeking to devour them, he fails thanks in part due to Guts' intervention. Then, he gets deserted by Farnese and Serpico when they decide to follow Guts' lead and ultimately ends up getting fired by the clergy for his shortcomings.
  • Number Two: Serves as second-in-command to Farnese in the Holy Iron Chains Knights.
  • Old Soldier: Getting on in years, but he's still fighting with as much vigor as ever.
  • One-Man Army: Once stood against and prevented about a hundred horsemen from crossing a bridge to protect the wounded old man guarding it, thus earning his Red Baron nickname.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: He hasn't taken off his helmet since getting dragged onto Roderick's ship because he would rather not be recognized by his old cohorts. They aren't fooled at all. Hell, calling it a disguise is pushing it, considering it's the same, very unique-looking, helmet that he always wore around them.
  • Rank Scales with Asskicking: Downplayed in that he is second-in-command, not the leader of the Holy Iron Chains Knights, but he still has authority and he kicks ass.
  • Red Baron: Renowned as the Bridge Knight for his One-Man Army feat, and also goes by the less-savory name: 'Iron Staff Demon Azan'. Even Guts had heard of his story.
  • Samurai:
    • Despite being from the Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Europe he injects a bit of samurai flavor into the story, wearing distinctly Japanese-looking armor and sharing traits with the Japanese Folk Hero Musashibo Benkei.
    • His armor changes over the series, but has some very interesting elements from both European and Japanese armor. His set worn with the Holy Iron Chain Knights has more Samurai influence, with many elements reflecting influence from Japanese tosei gusoku and some lamellar armor while his helmet is more visually comparable to a "grotesque" style close helmet of European origin. Yet by the time of the Fantasia arc and the battle on the ship, this is inverted. His newer armor is very distinctly 16th century European, while his helmet looks far more like a Japanese kabuto, even bearing a menpo and throat protector typical of Samurai helmets.
  • Sixth Ranger: For Guts' new companions, having unwittingly become a stowaway on Roderick's ship.
  • Stout Strength: Has a large belly, but it's packed with muscle. Strength comes from your core, folks!
  • Straight Man: In the Holy Iron Chains Knights he serves as the straight man to Serpico's jokester behavior.
  • Worthy Opponent: Upon seeing what Guts is capable of, he tells the young knights to stand back and let him do it, whereupon he issues a formal challenge to Guts as a knight. He also dresses down his men for wanting to kill a defeated Guts, telling them not to disrespect an opponent who fought well according to the rules of combat.

    Roderick 

Roderick of Schtauffen (ロデリック・オブ・シュタウフェン, Roderikku obu Shutaufen)

Guidebook Stats:note  Height: 188 cm (6 ft, 2 in); Weight: 77 kg (169 lb, 12 oz); Age: 27

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/roderick_300.jpg
Roderick, perched on the rigging of the Seahorse.

"It looks bad when a princess protects a knight."

An old friend of Farnese's brother Magnifico, Roderick is the third in line to the royal throne of Iith and a ship's captain in the Iith navy. What's more, he is also Farnese's new Fiancée as part of an Arranged Marriage planned by Magnifico in order to further cement their alliance. Rash and daring, yet at the same time charming and handsome, he seems to show a personal interest in Farnese due to her reputation as a Rebellious Princess despite his obvious ulterior motives. Disapproving of his father and his country's isolationist foreign policy and lack of will to use their naval power, he wishes to explore uncharted seas and conquer unknown lands and sympathizes with Magnifico's wish to surpass his father and seize the day.

He joins Guts and his party late in the story line, making him The Sixth Ranger, after proposing to transport them to Skellig on his ship, the Seahorse. He also wants to use this opportunity to spend some time with his wife-to-be. He was very impressed to see the skills of Guts against the Kushan's familiars in Vritannis and immediately accepted him as a leader, while Guts and his companions defer to Roderick regarding the mundane matters of sailing and ship-to-ship combat.

In battle, Roderick uses a straight sword and seems to be a decently skilled fighter, but his true talent is commanding ships in naval battles.


  • Agent Mulder: As opposed to the majority of the other Vritannis nobles, Roderick actually finds himself fascinated by the otherworldly sights and monsters that Guts' group tends to attract.
  • Amazon Chaser: While it's a bit downplayed in that Farnese is a Rebellious Princess rather than an outright Action Girl, Roderick considers her far more interesting than the shallow noblewomen he's seen who all look and act the same as each other. The more he sees of her inner strength, the more he likes her.
  • Arranged Marriage: He is engaged to Farnese through Magnifico's arrangement as part of their scheme to unite their houses. Still, he is actually interested in Farnese as a person and not just as part of an alliance.
  • Badass Normal: A regular human but he can still stand toe-to-toe with familiars or minor demons and is a highly effective admiral in command of his own ship.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows: Has a manly pair of eyebrows to show that he's both a badass and a Hunk.
  • The Captain: On the Seahorse, he's the man in charge and every crew member and passenger is his responsibility. However, he defers to Guts as the party leader on land and in all matters of monster-slaying.
  • Cool Boat: The Seahorse, his personal warship, which is as beautiful as she is deadly in the hands of her captain and crew.
  • Courtly Love: How he manifests his interest for Farnese, as could be expected from a nobleman of his time.
  • Dance of Romance: At the ball he invites Farnese to dance with him, perhaps hoping to invoke this trope's favor. While she accepts modestly and seems affected by his charm, it's likely she was thinking of Guts and her old companions the whole time.
  • A Father to His Men: Cares about each and every member of his crew, who adore and respect him in return.
  • Grand Romantic Gesture: On his first meeting with Farnese he makes a gift to her of a whole greenhouse full of roses. Compounding the gesture, he compliments her uniqueness by explaining that roses—like most daughters of nobility—all look the same to him and that they are really only fit to adorn her, a white lily of the field which doesn't scatter even in a strong wind.
  • Hunk: Between the massive, scary-looking Guts and good looking, but rather lanky Serpico, Roderick provides us (and Farnese) with some eye pleasing, well balanced manliness.
  • I Kiss Your Hand: Upon being introduced to Farnese by Magnifico he gently kisses her hand.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Roderick seems to be very sympathetic about Farnese's crush on Guts. On one occasion he even regrets saying that Guts trusts her with what's most important to him, i.e. Casca, thinking he might have hurt Farnese's feelings.
  • Love at First Sight: It only took one meeting for him to decide that he was in love with Farnese.
  • Nice Guy: Roderick is chivalrous, polite, and kind, and extends his generosity to all of his fiancée's companions.
  • Officer and a Gentleman: An aristocratic and educated naval officer who excels in warfare but never fails to be fair, courteous, and polite—especially to ladies.
  • Prince Charming: Though his actual noble rank isn't quite elaborated on, he's definitely some stripe of nobility and in line for the throne. Everything else about him is pretty much in line with the classical archetype.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Highly respected by his men for being fair, experienced, and level-headed.
  • Red Baron: Famous on the high seas as "The Sailing Prince of Eath" for the feat of defeating five Tudor warships using only one vessel.
  • Royal Rapier: Uses a straight sword or rapier for close quarters, but given a choice between hand-to-hand and ship-to-ship combat, he'll take the latter, and for very good reason: he's a competent swordsman, but a bloody brilliant naval commander.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Despite his royal importance, he leads by example and doesn't consider it beneath his dignity to do things such as dive into the sea to rescue others, take part in fighting, or explore the mouths of dead sea monsters.
  • Sailor's Ponytail: Otherwise, he styles his long hair this way.
  • Shirtless Scene: Gets a couple chances to show off off that chiseled body, such as when he fishes Guts out of the ocean and later when he explores the Sea God's mouth.
  • The Sixth Ranger: A late addition to an already assembled party, but for what it's worth he really pulls his weight.
  • Slipknot Ponytail: Wore his hair loose once after he rescued Guts from sinking into the ocean because of his steel hand. Turns out he's even more good-looking that way.
  • Tall, Dark, and Handsome: As tall, dark, and handsome as they get. If this were an old-fashioned pirate movie, he'd probably be the leading man.
  • Third-Option Love Interest: To Farnese, if she decides to give up on Guts.
  • Understanding Boyfriend: Roderick appreciates Farnese just the way she is and praises her courage and emerging witch powers, despite society in general frowning on such unladylike behavior and distrusting magic. He often encourages her when she's feeling insecure.
  • Warrior Prince: An expert in naval warfare who sails boldly into danger, and can also handle his sword pretty well.

    Magnifico 

Magnifico de Vandimion (マニフィコ・ド・ヴァンディミオン, Manifiko do Vandimion)

Guidebook Stats:note  Height: 174 cm (5 ft, 8.5 in); Weight: 69 kg (152 lb, 2 oz); Age: 28

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/magnifico_screentone_300.jpg
There he goes with another Zany Scheme...

"Where can I be safe?"

Farnese's slippery and underachieving older brother is a sad case of The Un-Favourite. His father, considering his talents to be mediocre, has preferred to give the more important responsibilities to his brothers Giorgio and Poliziano, leaving him only with minor tasks.

Ready to do anything to gain his father's attention and recognition, or—failing that—to get out of his father's shadow, he schemed to have his sister marry his best friend, Roderick, in order to unite both their families. In exchange for Farnese's agreement to marry Roderick, Magnifico helped Guts and his companions secure passage to their destination on a ship. At the ball, however, his attempt to announce the engagement failed because of Farnese's sudden disappearance and was rendered moot by the attack of Daiba's monsters. Having no other choice and not wishing to face his father's wrath, he fled aboard Roderick's Seahorse together with Guts' Companions.

Cowardly and unusually awkward, he never takes part in physical fights and reacts rather comically to the supernatural happenings he witnesses.


  • Art Shift: Due to his status as comic relief, his reactions get drawn in a cartoony fashion.
  • Butt-Monkey: Suffers all sorts of humiliations, and it's always Played for Laughs.
  • Characterization Marches On: When first introduced, he looked rather handsome, dignified, and even came across as a credible schemer with some useful knowledge of business and politics. After his Epic Fail at the ball, however, he gets reduced to an ineffectual coward and Harmless Villain who is often drawn in cartoonish fashion.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Pretty much describes any Zany Scheme he cooks up with. One that stands out is his "master plan" to enslave all of Elfhelm's elves and sell them off as human pets. Not only was hiring Puck as his only would-be accomplice a disaster-piece just waiting to happen, the Elf Queen herself points out that, with the Astral and Earth planes converging and elves of all kinds now popping up everywhere in the living world, whatever "exotic trade value" they might've had before is now rendered moot.
  • Dirty Coward: Whenever something remotely dangerous happens, he immediately runs and hides.
  • The Drag-Along: Got swept along by Guts and company during the chaos in Vritannis before he had a chance to escape. Subsequent events have assured he has no choice but to go with them, which he isn't thrilled about.
  • Epic Fail:
    • Upon trying to announce Roderick and Farnese's marriage to a huge assembly of nobles, including his father, Farnese has disappeared. Complete with Roderick facepalming. Fortunately for him, and unfortunately for everyone else, the awkwardness is broken up by the giant demon tiger.
    • Then when he gets to Elf Island, his plan to put Puck on the throne is a ludicrous fiasco, resulting in his Cool and Unusual Punishment by being made to help the brownies with their work.
  • Family Business: Part of his father's commercial empire, or rather he was until he decided to rebel but ended up stuck with Guts and company instead.
  • Freudian Excuse: The reason that he's greedy and irresponsible is that he's always been his father's least favorite son.
  • Greed: As soon as he sees any kind of non-threatening supernatural creature or phenomenon, the first thing he thinks of is always some unscrupulous Zany Scheme to monetize it.
  • In-Series Nickname: By Elf Island, he's picked up a demeaning nickname which Evil Genius translates as "Magni-fool."
  • Ironic Name: Magnifico means magnificent or splendid in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. Unfortunately, he's anything but.
  • The Load: Much like Farnese when she first joined the party, he has no useful abilities to contribute and is just one more person to protect. Quite unlike his sister, however, he has shown no signs of trying to change and learn new skills in order to make himself useful.
  • Nervous Wreck: Very high strung, and totally freaks out whenever the situation turns even slightly against his favor. Made worse for his case since he's a Non-Action Guy.
  • Non-Action Guy: The only character of the party to never partake in the action. Even his sister, who is hardly as much of a trained fighter, is more willing to put up a fight than him.
  • "Not So Different" Remark: While he hates his father for manipulating his family and abdicating his responsibility as a parent, Lady Vandimion points out to Magnifico that his use of Farnese as a negotiating tool is no different from that and warns that he will turn out just like his father if he isn't careful.
  • Pet the Dog: He does seem to actually care for his sister Farnese, and while he's marrying her off for political reasons he also knows that his best friend is a real gentleman.
  • Smug Snake: Sometimes he fancies himself rather clever with his schemes and manipulations, even though any stunt he pulls will usually amount to nothing but embarrassment for him.
  • The Starscream: Wishes to overtake his brothers' position in the family business.
  • Token Evil Teammate: Tries to be this, but he's rather ineffectual at putting his schemes into action. Ultimately, he's more dim-witted and rude than he is evil.
  • The Un-Favourite: His father favors his more accomplished brothers and refuses to give him more responsibility, causing Magnifico to feel unappreciated and ignored.
  • Upper-Class Twit: Played with. His introduction chapters seem to be setting him up for a shrewd businessman and Manipulative Bastard. But even then, conversations with his parents already give the idea that he's not really as clever as he thinks he is. Then comes his Epic Fail moment at the ball, followed immediately by a rampaging assault of mutated tigers that sends him pissing down his trousers... and just like that, Magnifico's "dashing aura" vanishes into thin air. Subsequent stories from there on out continue to poke fun at his ineptitude, cowardice, and general lack of dignity for a nobleman.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: All he ever wanted was for his father to appreciate him and trust him with more responsibility. If he can't have that, he wants to surpass his father and make him see the error of his judgement.
  • Zany Scheme: Tries to convince Roderick that they should conquer Elf Island and sell elves as pets. When Puck overhears this proposal, Magnifico appeases him by offering to make him "king of the elves" in exchange for his cooperation. Later, upon seeing Isma's merrow form, he mutters "this'll make money."

    Isma 

Isma (イスマ, Isuma)

Guidebook Stats:note  Height: 152 cm (5 ft); Weight: 44 kg (97 lb); Age: 15

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/isma.png
Isma out fishing.
Click here to see Isma out as a fish.

"Sorry to disappoint. I'm human. I swim as well as a merrow, but I could soak in the sea all day and my legs won't turn into a tail fin."

Isma is a teenage girl living a solitary existence as a fisherman on a small and remote island. While she's managed to keep her spirits up thanks to her cheerful and energetic nature, she hasn't had an easy life. Her father was a human fisherman, but her mother was a merrow. She disappeared into the sea before Isma could even remember her, although she left a magical charm on the house to protect her daughter. Isma's father raised her by himself, but four years before the arrival of the Seahorse his boat was capsized by a storm and he died, telling Isma on his deathbed that her mother would come back for her someday. The Island's inhabitants believed that Isma was a merrow and feared that they would attract the wrath of the Sea God by having a merrow among them, so the children bullied Isma and the adults shunned her and talked about her behind her back.

Despite her strange parentage she seems to be completely human and has no special powers, making her wonder whether magical creatures such as merrows really exist. Because of this she is immediately excited to meet Isidro, Schierke, Puck, and Ivalera because they are living proof for her that magic is real. Isidro is quite attracted to her, partly because of her relaxed attitude toward nudity, and they might be developing feelings for each other.

When the Sea God begins attacking the remaining humans on the Island, Isma takes part in the ensuing battle, during which she learns her true name, gains the ability to take the form of a merrow, and is reunited with her mother. After the sea God is defeated, she decides to accompany her new friends aboard the Seahorse on the voyage to Elfhelm.


  • All the Other Reindeer: The other islanders believed her to be a merrow, which they thought would invite the displeasure of the sea god, so the children bullied her and the adults shunned and talked about her behind her back. As a result Isma lived by herself and resented the other islanders.
  • Apparently Human Merfolk: The merrows of Berserk have the ability to shift from their usual form with gills and a tail to a fully humanoid form that's capable of walking on land and having children with human men. This seems to be how Isma's mother conceived her, but Isma is an apparently normal human girl. Then it turns out she's a merrow too after all.
  • Art Shift: When she's being funny she's drawn in a more cartoonish manner.
  • Barbie Doll Anatomy: She is drawn like this when first depicted spearfishing in the nude, although not when she dives into the sea to save Isidro and turns into a merrow and onwards.
  • Comedic Underwear Exposure: During a feast in Elfhelm, Isma drunkenly decides to show off her merrow form without bothering to take off her clothes first. As a result, her drawers end up caught on her tailfin and get plopped on the table for everyone to see.
  • Curtains Match the Window: She has matching blue eyes and hair.
  • Cute Monster Girl: Her merrow form is an archetypal example, and pretty much the first genuinely cute nonhuman in the manga apart from the elves (Rosine is a matter of considerable dispute). Given what almost every other nonhuman gets up to on a regular basis, Beauty Equals Goodness is in full effect here.
  • Genki Girl: Isma is bubbly and full of energy, and Isidro of all people gets worn out just watching her rushing around preparing dinner and trying to keep up with her.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Her father was human, and her mother was said to have been a merrow, but Isma seems completely human aside from her aqua-colored hair and has no special powers. Except it turns out that she really is a merrow after all, and can shapeshift between human and merrow forms.
  • I Choose to Stay: She could have stayed in the sea with her mother, but she chooses to follow Isidro and Schierke, her newfound friends.
  • Implausible Hair Colour: Isma's hair is bright blue. Justified in that she's not human.
  • Improvised Weapon: During the fight with Captain Sharkrider/Bonebeard, Isma saves Isidro from a close call by throwing navigational instruments at the pirates.
  • Innocent Fanservice Girl: Often goes fishing in the nude and doesn't mind people seeing her while she isn't dressed, much to Isidro's delight (though he tries not to stare too much). It doesn't seem to occur to her that this could be provocative or risque. On the other hand, maybe she's not that innocent. During the big fight with the Sea God, when Isidro is trying to stammer out that Isma's grown a tail, the first thing she thinks he's taking about are her breasts, and tells him not to worry since they haven't gotten any smaller.
  • I Know Your True Name: She has one, and speaking it is what allows her to transform into merrow form. Ivalera explains that all spiritual beings have one and that because whoever knows it has power over you it should only be told to someone you can trust.
  • Made Myself Sad: When Serpico asks her about herself without suspecting he would remind her of something painful, she begins to explain in her usual cheerful manner that she's the last person left on the island and starts sobbing as she realizes what she's saying in a moment that's played for Bathos.
  • Make Me Wanna Shout: As a merrow her voice is a potent weapon.
  • Nice Girl: Isma is very hospitable and kind to strangers, letting Isidro and Schierke dry off by her fire and hosting them for dinner.
  • No Body Left Behind: After the destruction of Elfhelm come chapter 369, after Danann announces that they cannot stay in the human world, she and all other astral creatures begin to dissipate in flashes of light... including Isma. As she reaches out to Isidro in panic, she disappears, and Isidro only catches an empty dress.
  • No Social Skills: Due to living alone as a social outcast she doesn't know much about interacting with people.
  • Our Mermaids Are Different: She has the ability to change at will between a regular human form and a merrow form with gills and a fish tail.
  • Parental Abandonment: Her father died four years ago after his boat capsized in a storm, and her mother was gone before she could even remember. During the fight with the Sea God, her mother comes back to save her and help her friends defeat it.
  • Properly Paranoid: The townspeople of Isma's village have ostracized her under the assumption that she's a merrow. Eventually, it's revealed that they were right.
  • Ship Tease: Isidro is obviously attracted to Isma, and he shows it by trying to impress her with his prowess, treat her with courtesy, and protect her from harm. Isma seems to think Isidro is really cool, appreciates his chivalry, and ends up saving him a couple of times, most dramatically when she dives overboard to save him from drowning and transforms into a merrow. It looks like the author was teasing us with some Will They or Won't They? subtext.
  • Sole Survivor: The Sea God has turned all the other inhabitants of the island into tentacles by the time the passengers of the Seahorse arrive, a fate that Isma avoided because of her mother's protective charm.
  • Stepford Smiler: Downplayed, since she really is a cheerful and energetic person, but the way she describes the loss of her father and being shunned by her neighbors to Schierke and Isidro implies that she's lonelier than she at first lets on.
  • I Wished You Were Dead: Isma hated the villagers who mistreated her, and while she didn't literally want them to die she often wished they would just disappear. Once the Sea God actually caused this to happen, she feels guilty and regrets having such a wish because now she really is all alone.
  • Youthful Freckles: Having some freckles on the bridge of her nose emphasizes her girlish innocence and youthful energy.

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